Latest news with #WesternBalkansInvestmentFramework
Time of India
25-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Montenegro secures €350 million from EBRD and EU for transport upgrade
350 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union to enhance transport connectivity within the Balkan country and with the wider region, the EBRD said in a statement on Thursday. Advt Montenegro has secured €The EBRD will provide a loan of up to €200 million to finance the construction of the Matesevo-Andrijevica section of the highway connecting the Adriatic port of Bar with the Serbian border, while the EU will contribute two investment grants totalling €150 Sattler, the EU ambassador to Montenegro, said the grants represented the bloc's clear message of support towards Montenegro's efforts on its path to EU 22-km long stretch of highway passes through challenging terrain, and will connect Montenegro's underdeveloped north with the more economically active centre and EU has already provided a €4.7 million grant for a feasibility study for the Bar-Boljare highway under the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The project constitutes an integral part of the Trans-European Transport Networks "Modern and reliable transport infrastructure is essential for Montenegro's economic development, especially in boosting tourism, trade, and regional integration," said Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Regional Director for Western EU's Sattler added that the bloc had provided more than €350 million in grants for transport projects in Montenegro in recent EU launched accession talks with Montenegro in 2012 and since then 33 out of a total 35 chapters of negotiations - areas in which the candidate needs to emulate EU laws - have been opened and three provisionally completed.
Reuters
10-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EBRD launches $417 million programme to help Western Balkans 'go digital'
SARAJEVO, April 10 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Thursday launched a programme worth 377 million euros ($417 million) to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop new technologies in the Western Balkans. The programme, developed with the support of the European Union, will combine loans, grants and technical assistance for investments in digitalisation, automation and green technologies, officials said during a presentation in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, Sarajevo. The bank says the digital modernisation of the private sector can play a vital role in improving socio-economic conditions in the region and strengthening ties with the European Union. "With today's launch of the regional Go Digital in the Western Balkans initiative, the EU reaffirms its strong support for SMEs – the backbone of the region's economies," Adebayo Babajide, the deputy head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia, said. The development bank will extend up to 350 million euros to partner financial institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to lend to small and medium companies. The European Union will also provide 27.6 million euros in grant incentives and technical assistance for the programme, secured through the Western Balkans Investment Framework. Francis Malige, the EBRD's Managing Director of Financial Institutions, said the programme would address "substantial gaps in technology adoption". It builds on the success of an ongoing 61.5 million-euro pilot programme in Bosnia that since 2023 has supported investments in nearly 200 local companies, and will enable around 750 businesses to receive support to innovate, digitalise and embrace green technologies, Babajide said. "EU grants not only provide technical expertise and incentives, but also make financing more accessible and affordable for SMEs, with a special emphasis on women-led SMEs," he said in a statement. Since 2009, the EU has channelled 628 million euros through the WBIF to support private sector growth through grants, guarantees and blended finance. The EBRD has invested more than 20 billion euros in the Western Balkans since the mid-1990s, supporting particularly the private sector and SMEs. ($1 = 0.9031 euros)
