The European Investment Bank has concluded three new loans, two with local banks and one with the Ministry of Finance and the Development Fund of the Republic of Serbia, in the total amount of 290 million euros for Serbian companies. These funds are already available to small and medium enterprises for financing working capital and long-term investments, preserving liquidity and jobs, as well as expanding business, says Alessandro Bragonzi, head of the Regional Office of the European Investment Bank (EIB), for the Western Balkans.
According to Bragonci, the funds were provided within the financial package of the European Union Team of Europe in response to Covid-19, which brought the total EIB support for the recovery of Serbian companies from the consequences of the Covid-19 virus to 380 million euros.
As such, Bragonzi notes, it will be available on more favorable and affordable terms, longer repayment terms and flexible terms.
“We wanted to enable fast and efficient distribution of funds to Serbian companies, covering the widest possible range of sectors, ie production, service, trade and agricultural activities, as well as economic entities in the field of tourism, catering and passenger traffic registered in the appropriate register. More precisely, when it comes to the 200 million euros that the EIB has agreed with the Development Fund of the Republic of Serbia, we expect that these funds will protect over 47,000 jobs in various sectors and create 5,500 new employment opportunities for people in Serbia. Our goal is to help companies continue their business, production, supply chains and further expand,” Bragonzi points out and reminds that since 2009, the EIB has invested more than 2.2 billion euros in almost all key sectors of the Serbian economy.
The EIB is the largest investor in the region. Do you think that the crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic have changed investment priorities compared to the period before these events?
– The Covid-19 virus pandemic has hit the whole world hard and on a large scale and disrupted our daily life and business. It drew our attention to the importance of quality health care in order to protect ourselves and more vulnerable categories of the population, as well as easily accessible internet connection that allows us to maintain private and business communication, even during the most severe restrictions on movement. Therefore, in the coming years, the EIB will continue to invest in medical and digital capacities in the region to help countries increase their resilience to future crises, improve living and business conditions, as well as to continue to develop, create new jobs and build secure future for its citizens.
An additional challenge facing both the Western Balkans and the world is climate change. In the coming period, the skills will be reflected in the fact that recovery from the pandemic and climate action complement each other, in order to achieve a green recovery and transformation towards a new economic model and a sustainable society. The EIB, as a bank of the European Union, is a long-term partner of the region with a 40-year tradition of financial, technical and advisory support for the long-term and sustainable future of the region.
The EU has revised its plans in the previous period, will this be felt in the work of the EIB in Serbia?
– When it comes to the next period, the EIB will invest funds for the fastest recovery of the Western Balkans from the pandemic and its transformation into a digital, green and connected market. To achieve this, the EIB will continue to work with the European Team initiative together with other EU institutions and increase support for building a more reliable, efficient and renewable energy infrastructure, as well as digitizing and modernizing all key sectors – from health and transport to education.
The green and digital revolutions are currently dominating the transport sector, at a time when the climate is changing drastically and a global health pandemic is threatening humanity. The challenges facing this sector are great. Transport is both part of the solution and part of the problem, given that it is the only sector where CO2 emissions continue to rise, but at the same time it has been hit hardest by the pandemic. That is why he must lead the recovery through the development of new technologies that will fight the challenges and secure his future. In its revised Transport Investment Policy, the EIB has expressed its readiness to support a green transition and the development of a new transport system that will be more accessible and efficient, greener and safer – and more sustainable.
The private sector will also remain at the center of our attention, as small businesses, the backbone of our economies, need support to recover from the crisis and develop in the direction of innovation and digitalization, thus creating the conditions for new jobs. All these initiatives are part of the European Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan adopted in 2020, which will make about 30 billion euros available to Western Balkan countries for investments that encourage green transition, inclusive growth and the creation of a common market, Nova reports.
