On Friday 25 February, the European Commission unveiled a €3.2 billion investment programme to support 21 connectivity projects in the fields of transport, digital, climate and energy in the Western Balkans.
This is the first major set of projects under the economic and investment plan announced in October 2020 (see EUROPE 12575/10).
Of the €3.2 billion, €1.1 billion are EU grants under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance 2021-2027 (IPA III), plus additional bilateral contributions from EU Member States and Norway and soft loans from international financial institutions.
In concrete terms, this package of projects concerns the construction of major road and rail links in the region, including the Mediterranean, East-West and Rhine-Danube corridors as well as the rail corridor between Skopje and the Bulgarian border.
The projects will also help develop renewable energy sources with the construction of solar power plants and the trans-Balkan electricity transmission corridor. The construction of wastewater treatment plants, a new building for a children’s teaching hospital and the development of a rural broadband infrastructure are also planned.
Implementation will start after the signing of the agreements with the international financial institutions, expected in 2022 and 2023. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)