Sat, Nov 21 2009

Billion euro for new Western Balkans Investment Framework

Thu, Oct 22 2009 10:02 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 1530 Views
Billion euro for new Western Balkans Investment Framework

The European Commission and European financial institutions have agreed to set up a Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) that will provide a joint grant facility and lending facility for priority projects in the region, with a commitment for a billion euro in loans already in place.
 
The bodies involved are the EC, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Council of Europe Development Bank.
 
Countries where "priority projects" will be eligible for financing are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo – in terms of UN Security Council resolution 1244, Montenegro and Serbia.
 
"The objective is to pool and coordinate different sources of finance and leverage loans with grants for projects representing a priority for the Western Balkan beneficiaries," the EC said.
 
The initial focus on infrastructure sectors, including social infrastructure, will be expanded to include support to SMEs, energy efficiency and other investment sectors
 
The European Commission has so far allocated about 110 million euro to support the financing of municipal infrastructure projects and technical assistance projects.
 
This funding is now part of the Joint Grant Facility.
 
The EIB, EBRD and CEB have each pledged 10 million euro for technical assistance or other grant support, in accordance with their respective internal procedures.
 
"EU member states and other donors are invited to make grant contributions via a European Western Balkans Joint Fund co-managed by the EIB and EBRD," the EC said.
 
For projects to get loan financing, "good preparation and a strong implementation framework are essential," the Commission said.
 
Project selection will ensure consistency with the countries’ needs and will support EU accession priorities, according to the EC.
 
A joint lending facility will work in conjunction with the grant facility. The EIB, the bank of the European Union, and EBRD have committed themselves to making available a billion euro in loans. Likewise, CEB is set to enhance its lending to the region for social projects.
 
The WBIF agreement will be signed in the coming weeks.

Write comment

Name:Comment:

Generate new code
Send your comment
President Vujanovic of Montenegro on official visit to Bulgaria

Bulgarian and Montenegrin presidents set to sign bilateral agreements for enhanced economic cooperation in the energy sector

Turkey and Serbia sign deals during Gul’s visit

Bilateral agreements, on infrastructural and economic co-operation, on technical and financial co-operation, and two on social security, signed during Turkish president Abdullah Gul’s visit to Belgrade.

Kosovo launches television ad campaign

Advertisements to promote the image of Kosovo are to be broadcast on major television channels including CNN, BBC and euronews, a media report in Pristina says.

‘Political de-mining in the Western Balkans’ – Rehn

For the Western Balkans and Turkey, the prospect of EU membership has been a factor for stability and societal progress, and for democratic and economic transformation, Enlargement Commissioner says.

‘Year of progress’ in Western Balkans, says European Commission

Croatia could complete accession negotiations in 2010, Serbia's interim agreement should be implemented, while key reforms are needed in other countries.

EIB increases support for SME projects in Romania by 140 million euro

Loan to Bancpost Romania will finance small and medium-scale projects promoted by SMEs in various sectors of industry, agriculture, tourism and services, while loan to EFG Leasing Romania will support smaller projects in Romania in the areas of industry, services including tourism, agriculture, health, energy and environmental protection.

EIB approves infrastructure funding for Sofia municipality

EIB approved loans for five overhead passes in Sofia.

EIB 100m euro loan for mid-cap projects in Hungary

The European Investment Bank is to lend 100 million euro to the Hungarian Development Bank to finance projects by mid-cap companies, to improve their access to long-term finance.

EIB launches Serbia financial aid deal

EIB’s 1.4 billion euro financial crisis plan for closer relations with EU - signature of first 250 million euro loan for SMEs and the new Framework Agreement.

EIB 67 billion euro capital increase approved

Boost will enable European Investment Bank to increase lending as part of measures against financial crisis

More in this category

Macedonia offers olive branch to Bulgaria

Under pressure from Brussels on the name issue dispute with Greece, Skopje seeks to re-build relationship with with Sofia.

Kosovo’s governing coalition breaks up – reports

Parties that governed together in Pristina fall out because of their battle in Kosovo’s local government elections.

Regional fallout from Macedonia name dispute

Media reports say that the EU will pressure Athens and Skopje to come up with a solution to the Macedonia name dispute by December 7, or Brussels will take a cooler approach to Macedonia’s EU hopes; while a row breaks out in Belgrade after Serbia’s foreign minister takes sides in the dispute.

A special purpose base

Russia’s planned humanitarian base in Serbia could hold deeper strategic interests

Renewed bank re-assurances for Romania despite stalled bailout-mandated reforms

The IMF has withdrawn its mission, which was due to assess Romania's compliance with the terms of the bailout, and now expects Romania to miss the fiscal deficit target set by the bailout agreement.

© 2000-2009, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.