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Author: WeBalkans

EU energy support of €165 million to help most vulnerable households and SMEs in Serbia

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The EU Ambassador in Serbia Emanuele Giaufret and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić witnessed today the signing of a €165 million budget support to fight the energy crisis in Serbia. With this EU aid, announced by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in October 2022, vulnerable households and SMEs in Serbia will pay less for energy.  
The agreement was signed by the Minister for European Integration, Tanja Miščević, and the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Plamena Halačeva. The event was attended by the Minister of Finance Siniša Mali, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedović and General Director of “Elektromreža Srbije” Jelena Matejić. This immediate support is the first tranche of the ambitious €1 billion EU Energy Support Package to help the Western Balkans face the current energy crisis and promote its clean energy transition.  
The €500 million for six Western Balkan partners will provide direct funds to the region’s economies through budget-support measures: To balance the increase in energy prices for businesses and the energy sector, To keep energy prices affordable, especially for vulnerable households and To support policy measures to accelerate the green energy transition.  
The second part of the package – another €500 million – will cover priority flagship investments to diversify energy supplies, boost renewable energy and improve energy efficiency. It will also promote the clean energy transition of the region and cut dependency on Russia’s fossil fuels.

TEDxYouth@MarijinDvor, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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TEDxYouth@MarijinDvor is the biggest TEDxYouth event in the Western Balkans. This time, the event was organised by Young European Ambassadors (YEAs), Hadzera Selimovic and Ena Porca and it attracted nine speakers from Western Balkans and European Union. The official name of this year’s edition is “Reinventing the Future”.

 

Fifteen Young European Ambassadors participated in this year’s event; six others contributed to the organisational part. YEA from Montenegro, Ivana Sreckovic, was one of the event’s speakers. She talked about gender equality in business during her speech “Wo(Men) in Business: Is it a Man’s world?”. Other than Ivana, two additional speeches were conducted by YEA from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Anastasija Djordja Bosancic, and YEA from Kosovo, Fatbardh Kabashi.

 

Topics of other speakers were related to the environment, music, mental health awareness, research and similar topics.

 

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised (subject to specific rules and regulations).

EU4Schools restores hope in Albania

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An EU-funded programme helps renovate the schools damaged by the 2019 earthquake.

The morning of 26 November 2019 found Albania in agony after an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale. It killed 51 people, and more than a thousand aftershocks further damaged homes, education institutions, and public and private buildings. The earthquake left cities paralysed and communities hopeless. It took a heavy toll on education facilities, leaving thousands of children traumatised and uncertain about their future education.

But there came a ray of hope. On February 17, 2020, the European Union organised the “Together for Albania” International Donors’ Conference in Brussels, aiming to support the reconstruction efforts after the earthquake. The European Union, the Government of Albania, the United Nations, and the World Bank carried out a post-disaster needs assessment which served as a guiding tool for the Conference and as a basis for reconstruction and repair efforts. The European Commission pledged €115 million from the EU budget to rapidly reconstruct and repair key public buildings.

“The demand for support was high, as schools and kindergartens were destroyed, leaving students and children without proper learning facilities. Some of these educational institutions were already in poor condition, and the earthquake only exacerbated the situation.”

The #EU4Schools initiative, worth €75 million, was launched soon afterwards, bringing hope to pupils and teachers in the 11 most affected municipalities. Nora Kushti is a communication specialist with UNDP in Albania and says, “The demand for support was high, as schools and kindergartens were destroyed, leaving students and children without proper learning facilities. Some of these educational institutions were already in poor condition, and the earthquake only exacerbated the situation.”

During the reconstruction process UNDP has combined two key principles: #BuildBackBetter and #BuildBackTogether. “Building back better” means creating stronger structures which can resist earthquakes and natural disasters, meeting the highest international standards of quality and safety. All 63 education facilities, benefitting 24,000 pupils and teachers, will also be fully accessible for pupils with disabilities and will have dedicated spaces for medical care and psychological support.

Meanwhile, “Building back together” has offered a unique opportunity to engage beneficiaries in the reconstruction of their own education institutions and to tailor the design to their needs. There have been 58 consultation meetings and 16 other events organised so far which have brought together around 1,900 pupils, parents, local government representatives, and local institutions, promoting ownership and securing the sustainability of the investment.

“The new schools are fantastic and boast ultra-modern facilities including gyms, state-of-the-art libraries, modern labs, energy-efficient cooling and heating systems, and full accessibility for children with disabilities, including elevators and emergency exits: these schools are truly top-notch.”

About the project

“EU4Schools” is a programme funded by the European Union in response to the earthquake of 26 November, 2019. The programme is being implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Albanian government. It aims to support citizens in eleven affected municipalities: Durrës, Kamza, Kavaja, Kruja, Kurbin, Lezha, Mirdita, Rrogozhina, Shijak, Tirana, and Vora. The programme is part of the European Union’s financial commitment during the International Donors’ Conference, organised in Brussels on 17 February, 2020. The overall objective of this initiative is to further support local and national governments in reducing social and economic losses, and to accelerate the recovery process through educational facility repairs and reconstruction.

So far, 38 schools have been completed so around 10,000 children are studying in modern facilities just like their peers in any European Union country. “The new schools are fantastic and boast ultra-modern facilities including gyms, state-of-the-art libraries, modern labs, energy-efficient cooling and heating systems, and full accessibility for children with disabilities, including elevators and emergency exits: these schools are truly top-notch,” says Nora.

The Transparency Portal is a unique aspect of this project. This offers real-time updates on the reconstruction progress and strengthens the EU4Schools open data and transparency commitment. The portal provides open and comprehensive access to the reconstruction process, fostering trust among beneficiaries and the public.

The project has also run the “I Love My School” public awareness campaign. Through this campaign, children come together to discuss topics related to their schools, including gender equality, environmental protection, climate action, and Albania’s EU accession path. It’s clear that the project has brought a sense of hope to the community, as the new and colourful schools provide a tangible investment in education. As Nora says, this is a “long-term social and human capital investment by the EU, which will yield enormous returns.”

Call for applications now open for the 2023 EU Award for Roma integration in the Western Balkans and Türkiye

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The call for applications for the fifth EU Award for Roma integration in the Western Balkans and Türkiye is now open until 15 March 2023. This year’s edition of the award is dedicated to the Roma inclusion dimension in the digital agenda and the green economy, which represent new opportunities for improving the position of vulnerable Roma women and men in the region in the future.

 

The 2023 EU Roma Integration Award will promote private or public initiatives by various relevant Roma and non-Roma players – public institutions, private companies and businesses, employers, teachers and civil society organisations – to enhance the role of Roma in both implementing and benefitting from the green economy and digital agenda.

 

Roma integration continues to be a key priority in the EU enlargement process and the European Commission is committed to support and recognise the work done by Roma and non-Roma public institutions, private companies, businesses (including, but not limited to, employers and individuals such as teachers or healthcare actors) and civil society organisations who helped and achieved significant progress, concrete sustainable results and positive changes.

 

The 2023 award also confirms the EU’s commitment to support and recognise the work done on Roma integration. Gender equality and the empowerment of Roma women in the area of employment is an important dimension.

 

The EU Roma integration award aims to boost political commitment and support for Roma inclusion in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. This year’s award putting the spotlight on green economy and digital agenda is the fifth edition. The first edition of the award recognised the important role played by civil society organisations working for Roma integration. The second edition promoted inclusion, integration and empowerment of Roma youth. The third edition was dedicated to the “Unknown Heroes” Roma women who through their work and commitment have improved the social integration of Roma or brought positive change to their communities.

 

The fourth edition was dedicated to the extraordinary people who promote equality through employment.

 

The award is funded by the European Union and implemented by Roma Active Albania.

 

Applications must be submitted by 15 March 2023.

Kosovo: Team Europe – EIB Global support for railway network modernisation reaches €80 million

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EIB Global, the branch of the European Investment Bank (EIB) devoted to activities outside the European Union, has signed a €38 million agreement for the rehabilitation of 148 km of railway on rail route 10 in Kosovo. The renewal of track and the railway stations on Kosovo’s international rail network will help increase travel speed and improve passenger and freight capacity. These improvements will lead to a modal shift from road to rail and contribute to more environmentally sustainable mobility in the region.

 

As part of the Western Balkans core railway network and an extension of the TEN-T, the Kosovo rail route 10 project will improve regional connectivity and integration on the Orient/East-Mediterranean Corridor. The EIB loan comes in addition to investment and technical assistance grants channelled through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), together with a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This is the second EIB loan tranche for this railway project, reaching the total amount of €80 million for the modernisation of Kosovo’s railways.

 

In the last ten years, the EIB has supported the global rail sector by providing more than €39 billion of investments, helping to construct or upgrade almost 2 000 km of tracks and 304 stations. In the Western Balkans, EIB Global is a lead financier of strategic railway routes and provides technical and advisory support for the preparation, planning and implementation of projects for the modernisation or upgrading of the rail network. To date, the EIB has invested over €1.2 billion in the rail sector across the Western Balkans, supporting regional cooperation and connectivity.

Feeling the buzz in Montenegro

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An EU-funded project supports the Kolašin Beekeepers’ Association to attract more young people to beekeeping as a business.

The Perišić family from Kolašin, a small town in north-east Montenegro, bought several bee colonies last year and are already enjoying quality honey from their own production. The work to produce this harvest has been done by thousands of bees – and one twenty-year-old student of economics. Together with eight other young enthusiasts, Milica Perišić has recently taken up beekeeping thanks to a Kolašin Beekeepers’ Association project which promotes this hobby among young people. The Perišić family have been interested in beekeeping since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when there was an increased focus on natural products. The Beekeepers’ Association project came at the right time, giving Milica the opportunity and motivation to confidently venture into beekeeping.

“First of all, this is a great way to spend my free time: to spend some time in nature and observe these incredible small creatures, but also, this is a great opportunity to make money – and I won’t give up.”

Milica believes beekeeping is a serious opportunity for development, even though it is only a hobby providing for family and friends for now. “First of all, this is a great way to spend my free time: to spend some time in nature and observe these incredible small creatures, but also, this is a great opportunity to make money – and I won’t give up,” Milica says.

She admits that people find it unusual for a young woman to be engaged in beekeeping. “Sometimes they make jokes when I look for books and magazines about beekeeping, because they often think of it as a hobby for older, retired people, but eventually everyone is interested in learning more about my hobby,” Milica adds. She spends a lot of time in Podgorica due to her studies, but whenever she can, she comes back to Kolašin. Milica says that in the future she can imagine herself living in this town which she perceived as a holdback while she was a high school student.

The Beekeepers’ Association has been promoting beekeeping for 20 years, and they see the past year as the most successful in these efforts. Bogoljub Bulatović is the President of the Association and he explains that until five years ago it was functioning as a traditional community of beekeepers but that then they decided to take action and bring more people, with a specific focus on young people, into beekeeping.  “There is a great demand for bee products, while the current production in Montenegro doesn’t meet the needs of the market and we wanted to use this opportunity to keep our young people here so they don’t move to bigger cities,” says Bogoljub.

 “It’s likely there will be many more but if only two people decide to devote themselves seriously to beekeeping, the landscape of the Kolašin area will change significantly.”

About the project

The Regional Programme for Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 2 (ReLOaD2) is a continuation of EU-supported initiatives – Local Democracy Strengthening Project (LOD, 2009-2016) and the subsequently expanded Regional Program for Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD, 2017-2020). The overall objective of the project is to strengthen participatory democracies and EU integration in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society and encouraging young people to actively take part in the decision-making process, and by improving a supportive legal and financial environment for civil society.

As part of their new mission, the association launched a project with the help of the European Union and UNDP. As part of the project, the association has provided beginners with complete beekeeping accessories, modern literature and detailed training on beekeeping. Since the beginning of the project the membership of the association has increased by 25%. Bogoljub explains that in addition to the tools and knowledge young people have gained, the entire local community benefits from the project because beekeeping improves fruit yield, and thus the agricultural sector more widely. “It’s likely there will be many more, but if only two people decide to devote themselves seriously to beekeeping, the landscape of the Kolašin area will change significantly”, says Bogoljub.

Montenegro is home to half of all European plant species and represents enormous potential for beekeeping. “That’s why I recommend everyone who is at least a little bit interested in nature to think about similar ventures”, says Bogoljub.

Meet the 30 Awarded Superchools of Serbia

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The Regional Youth Cooperation Office’s (RYCO) – Local Branch Office in Serbia in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) organised the introductory event “Meet the Superschools of Serbia” in Belgrade on 1 February 2023. The meeting gathered the 30 awarded high schools from Serbia represented by their principals and teachers in charge of coordinating the upcoming regional exchanges, not only to get to meet with each other but also to be part of a significant momentum such as the signing of the Partnership Agreements.

 

The directors and professors who will coordinate and implement these youth exchanges presented their ideas that will be further developed with the support of RYCO. The meeting served as a space for the participating schools to present their exchange programs in front of several important local and international actors. Also, it helped them create a clear overview of the program’s next steps. Young people representing the 30 high schools will have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the unique experience that the Superschools program has to offer.

 

The implementation of the projects will be divided into two rounds: The first round of exchanges will happen from April to June 2023, and the second round will continue from August to October 2023. Each partner school will organise one exchange visit to the partnering one lasting up to 7 days with a group of up to 12 students and 1 to 2 teachers. Through the exchange scheme, students and teachers will have the chance to travel, present themselves, their schools, and customs to their hosts, and learn new things about local communities throughout the region.

RCC: Nominations for Western Balkans women entrepreneurs of the year 2022 open

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The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is happy to announce that the nomination process for the Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022 has begun! The RCC launched this initiative last year in the framework of the Common Regional Market Action Plan 2021-2024 and the Women Economic Empowerment Agenda to recognise women who have started and developed their own businesses and contributed to new and sustainable jobs for other women and men in our region.

 

With less than 22% of Western Balkans entrepreneurs being female, the importance of promoting stories of successful women entrepreneurs from the region stands high. Women’s economic empowerment is critical to building resilient recovery efforts and more significant economic growth, as the number of women in the labour market is deeply intertwined with the region’s development.

 

The RCC invites individuals, representatives of public and private institutions, organisations and everyone interested to nominate their woman entrepreneur of the year in one (or more) of the following six categories: Green Woman Entrepreneur, Creative Woman Entrepreneur, Travel and Hospitality Woman Entrepreneur; Roma Woman Entrepreneur; Start-up Woman Entrepreneur; Young Woman Entrepreneur.

 

The recognition process will be open until 28 February 2023, and eligible women entrepreneurs should have registered their businesses before February 2022.

EU signs €70 million Financing Agreement for Energy Support Package for Bosnia and Herzegovina

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The European Commission has signed and sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina the Financing Agreement for the Energy Support Package worth €70 million that will provide assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most vulnerable households to cope with rising prices and support energy transition.  
The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina will now need to approve and countersign the Agreement to receive the first tranche of the allocated funds of around €63 million. Before the money is disbursed, BiH is expected to receive a positive assessment from the European Commission on progress in implementing the Action Plan approved by the BiH Council of Ministers on 22 December 2022. This Action Plan lists the measures that the BiH authorities will take to use the funds from the Energy Support Package and enable the country’s energy transition.  
The Energy Support Package for the Western Balkans was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to the region in October 2022. It allocates a total of €1 billion for the region –€500 million in immediate assistance and €500 million in medium to long-term support.

The Delegation of the European Union in Albania launches “Track the truth”, an initiative campaign to raise awareness about disinformation

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“Track the Truth” comes as a call from the European Union Delegation in Albania to fight together the distorted perceptions of reality. This awareness campaign dedicated to disinformation and misinformation has already started its journey on Tuesday, 31 January, with the inauguration of a unique installation in Skanderbeg Square near the National Historical Museum. It is a graphic tunnel, covered by disinformation and seemingly provocative messages, which invites you to track the truths hidden behind each of them.

 

Citizens, fact-checkers and media professionals are invited to reflect on the impact of disinformation by walking through this nine m-long tunnel, coated inside with true messages, graphically distorted to resemble some of the most common lies on Covid19, the war in Ukraine or climate change issues. The tunnel is equipped with a QR code that links you to a website where the messages are debunked, thanks to verified and objective information. The same platform also offers some tips on how to spot disinformative content.