Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi met in Brussels on Wednesday, discussing the post-COVID-19 recovery plan and speeding up economic growth, the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, as well as the Common Regional Market plan whose implementation is to transform the region, leading to more modern, greener and more digital economies, better linked with the EU Single Market.
“Focusing on the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan, we’ve revised the single list of projects setting priorities between key infrastructure projects, which are important for the country’s development,” Besimi pointed out, adding that the country will apply for technical assistance and grants for infrastructure projects within the Economic and Investment Plan, which are part of the single list of projects.
According to the Finance Ministry, efforts are made in this regard to submit an investment grant application for co-financing of the Kriva Palanka-Deve Bair railway section, which will provide funds for the eastern part of the Corridor 8 railway, and an investment grant application will be submitted for co-financing of the wastewater treatment plant in Skopje, thus opening a possibility to reduce loans.
The EU’s Economic and Investment Plan, adds the press release, sets out a substantial investment package mobilising up to EUR 9 billion of grant funding for the Western Balkans, and is also expected to mobilise potentially investments of up to EUR 20 billion.
“Even according to the EC’s most conservative forecasts, the implementation of the investment plan could boost growth in the Western Balkan countries by at least 3.6 percentage points. It’s very important to create all necessary conditions for crisis recovery together with the Western Balkans, and the investment package is at the heart of this plan,” says the Ministry of Finance.
The investment package includes projects in key areas such as transport, energy, environment, digital economy, and investment in youth and the private sector.
In addition, the press release reads, the Finance Minister stressed that the Government is committed to increasing the use of IPA funds by proposing well-developed (‘mature’) projects whose implementation could easily begin in a short time.
The Finance Ministry notes interlocutors have concluded that integration of the Western Balkans in the EU is crucial for stability and security in Europe.
