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Author: WeBalkans

EIB Global provides €50 million for integrated municipal water and sanitation services in North Macedonia

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European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova has visited North Macedonia to reaffirm the Bank’s longstanding commitment to supporting the country’s sustainable growth, through investments in vital infrastructure and close cooperation with local partners. On this occasion, the Bank signed an investment of €50 million to construct and refurbish water supply, wastewater and flood protection infrastructure, available to the country’s 80 municipalities. This funding will help improve the coverage, quality and climate resilience of water and sanitation services, while protecting public health and the environment. The project will benefit some 700 000 people, create new economic opportunities and strengthen climate change resilience for around 40% of country’s population.

 

Selected municipalities will be able to utilise the funds to install and modernise water and wastewater infrastructure, distribution and collection networks, as well as emergency flood protection measures. North Macedonia’s Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning will implement the municipal water investment programme with technical support from the EIB equivalent to €1.2 million. This action forms part of the Economic Resilience Initiative, aimed at mobilising additional financing to support growth, vital infrastructure and social cohesion in the Western Balkans.

YEAs participate at the Youth Conference 2022 in Kosovo

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Young European Ambassadors (YEA) Djellza Ibrahimi, Endrit Tasholli, Eris Çunaku, Suhel Ahmeti, Agon Rexhepi, Besfort Spahijaj participate at the Youth Conference 2022, organized by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport of Kosovo. The conference brought together around 200 young people, leaders of public institutions, civil society, youth centres and international partners to discuss the improvement of youth policies.

 

The conference consisted of four informative panels on different topics mainly related to government, local mechanisms and international organizations in relation to youth. The YEAs had the opportunity to listen to the panels and ask questions. Panel discussion topics included: Entrepreneurship for young people, Local mechanisms, Reform in Education, International Organizations Programs for the youth.

 

Conclusions and recommendations from the conference included invitation for greater cooperation between youth and institutions, the imperative need for new frameworks and regulations for youth, the need to set budget lines for youth, the need to increase youth participation in politics and similar.

Creative Europe call for cooperation projects

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A Creative Europe call for cooperation projects will support projects to carry out a broad spectrum of activities and initiatives involving artists and stakeholders active in different cultural and creative sectors. With a budget of €60 million, the action will foster cooperation between organisations active in the field of culture, to increase the European dimension of creation and circulation of European artistic content as well as to encourage the development, experimentation, dissemination or application of new and innovative practices.

 

European cooperation projects are open to all the cultural and creative sectors. However, as this action is part of the Culture strand of the programme, projects with exclusively audio-visual content and/or exclusively composed of organisations from the audio-visual sector are not eligible to apply.

 

The deadline for applications is 23 February 2023.

600,000 KM for the improvement of occupational health and safety in the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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A public call for participation in the technical support and grants award programme as part of investment support for the purpose of improving occupational health and safety (including protection measures against COVID-19) in the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been published within the EU4BusinessRecovery project, which is co-financed by the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany.  
By publishing this public call with a value of 600,000 KM, the European Union will enable companies to participate in a programme that includes training and technical and financial support in relation to occupational health and safety. Following participation in the training and technical support offered by the project, companies will qualify for financial support in the form of investments amounting to between 10,000 and 30,000 KM, which will be used to implement the recommended occupational health and safety measures (including also measures against COVID-19).
 
Selected companies will participate in free training on legal aspects and the importance of applying occupational health and safety measures. In addition to this, the companies will also be provided technical support in order to assess the current state of occupational health and safety, verify working environment conditions and be provided with recommendations for the improvement of working environment.

EU allocates BAM 3.5 million in support of primary agricultural production

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As part of the EU-funded EU4AGRI project, a public call has been launched to support investments in primary agricultural production.  
BAM 3.5 million is available under this public call, with grant amount per application ranging from BAM 15,000 to BAM 300,000. The applicant must ensure own co-financing for any single project for a minimum of 35% of the total amount of eligible costs of the proposed investment, except for the fruit and vegetable production sector where own co-financing should be a minimum of 30%.
 
Eligible applicants for grants under this support measure are independent entrepreneurs, cooperatives and companies.  
The deadline for applications is 15.00 on 31 January 2023.

Fourth Regional Forum on Ending Violence against Women in the Western Balkans and Türkiye

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The Fourth Regional Forum on Ending Violence against Women, titled “Integrated Policies, Inclusive Partnerships,” will start on 29 November. It will build on the momentum and progress from the last five years and set the stage for continued achievements toward ending violence against women in the region. The event is organised by UN Women and convened jointly with the Council of Europe, the European Union, and the national women’s structures of the Western Balkans.

 

The Regional Forum is the only regular mechanism gathering key stakeholders in the Western Balkans for ending violence against women (VAW). This year’s Forum will address issues related to the establishment of femicide watches – femicide monitoring mechanisms – at national and regional levels, including by examining the strategies and challenges of those established elsewhere in Europe and across the world. The event will also focus on strengthening alliances, networks and platforms throughout the region and locally, advancing cooperation between women’s organisations and healthcare providers, and examining challenges and opportunities in strengthening referral mechanisms at local and national levels.

 

The Regional Forum will feature a mix of plenary and groupwork sessions on the above-mentioned thematic areas to enable insightful discussions. Experts from the region and beyond will present evidence-based analysis and lead discussions in order to agree on the methods and approaches for implementing interventions towards ending VAW in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

58 new VET projects selected under first ever capacity building call by ERASMUS+

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In cooperation with vocational education and training (VET) institutions and organisations around the world, out of 93 evaluated projects, 58 new Erasmus+ Capacity Building for Vocational Education and Training projects have been selected, with a total amount of €21.3 million of EU funding. The projects from the call for “Capacity Building in Vocational Education and Training” involve VET bodies from 75 countries around the world.  
Erasmus+ is about much more than student exchanges. It stimulates cooperation between educational organisations from the EU and other European countries, and beyond. Erasmus+ VET actions support people in getting the qualifications that are key for the labour market and help to shape young people and adults into professionals. Their role makes VET organisations well positioned to support other Erasmus+ and EU priorities on the green transition and the move to digital.

European investors gather for a presentation of the opportunities and advantages of doing business in the Western Balkans

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At the Western Balkans 6 Investment Conference, in Ljubljana, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WBCIF) gathered investors from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, WB investment promotion agencies, ministries responsible for investment policy and promotion, regional organisations and international financial institutions.     
The conference disseminated information on the investment framework, presented the opportunities and advantages of doing business in the Western Balkans, showcased examples of successful investments to the region, and supported networking. The conference also presented the advantages of the Western Balkans region compared to other investment destinations, in light of new global developments and nearshoring of supply chains.   
The conference was a part of the implementation of the Western Balkans Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan funded by the European Union. More information on the CRM is at https://www.rcc.int/pages/143/common-regional-market.

M’BASE programme supports 23 civil society projects in Montenegro

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The winners of funds from the third competition within the M’BASE programme, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Centre for Civic Education, gathered at Europe House for the signing ceremony. The third competition within the M’BASE programme was announced on 13 September, and by the time it was closed on 13 October, 82 project applications had been submitted. In total, 23 of them will be implemented.

 

While addressing the signatories, Yngve Engstroem, Head of the Cooperation Department at the EU Delegation in Montenegro, described the M’BASE programme as a good opportunity for civil society organisations to gain access to EU funds that will help them build their capacities and play an important role in their communities.

 

As a programme of civil society organisations in Montenegro – from basic services to policy shapers – M’BASE is implemented by the Centre for Civic Education in partnership with the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Centre for the Protection and Study of Birds (CZIP) NGO, and the Politikon NGO network, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of European Affairs of the Government of Montenegro. The project is financed by the European Union and the Ministry of Public Administration.

Winners chosen for Being Young in Serbia photo competition

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Entertainment, sports activities, art, fighting for a better future – all these feature in the daily life of young people in Serbia, and inspired the participants of this year’s photo contest with the theme “Biti mlad u Srbiji” (Being young in Serbia).

 

A five-member jury selected four winners from over 1,000 photos submitted to the competition, which was organised by the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia, National Geographic Serbia, Politikin Zabavnik, and Erasmus Student Network Serbia. This is one of the activities with which the EU Delegation in Serbia marked 2022 as the European Year of Youth.

 

In the category for best photos of citizens, the awards were given to:

 

1st place – Miloš Krstić, Festival Euphoria (Exit Festival, Novi Sad)

2nd Place – Irena Ljubanović, Woman showing solidarity to another woman (Belgrade)

3rd Place – Jana Cekić, And, What Now? (Belgrade)

 

The photo which won first prize will be published in the Serbian edition of the National Geographic magazine, as well as in Politikin Zabavnik. The four winning photos, as well as 16 shortlisted photos, will be exhibited during December at the EU Info Centre in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš. The photographers of the best works will be awarded vouchers for electronic equipment; the winning photo will be awarded a voucher for the purchase of electronic equipment worth €1,000, the second prize is a voucher worth €500, the third prize is a voucher worth €300, while the best photograph of an EU project receives a certificate.