Funds envisaged by the EU economic package for the Western Balkans could be withdrawn relatively quickly if the projects are ready, says the head of the European Investment Bank for WB, Dubravka Negre, and adds that in the case of Serbia, it could first be a project for the Peace Highway section from Plocnik. from Merdar, perhaps next year.
Negre told Tanjug that the distribution of a total of nine billion euros from the EU Economic Investment Plan for WB by countries in the region has not been determined yet.
However, he states that the money could be obtained relatively quickly, after the approval in Brussels, for those projects that are already being worked on.
As an example, she mentioned the Peace Road, the section from Plocnik to Merdar, for which the technical documentation is already being prepared.
By the way, funds have already been provided for the right section of the Peace Highway from Nis to Plocnik, and the beginning of works is expected next year.
Negre says that the technical documentation for the section from Plocnik to Merdar is expected to be ready in a couple of months or next year, as well as that funds for realization could be withdrawn even then.
She mentioned that for a large number of projects, they do not start from scratch, because they are already working on their preparation.
“We are talking about 2023 and 2024, it can be for some projects whose preparation has not started, but, for example, the central wastewater treatment plant in Novi Sad, technical documentation is being prepared, a lot has already been done, and we hope that it will be able to start implementation very soon,” says Negre.
She stated that this project is one of the possible projects that can be financed from this grant package.
Also, he states, a project for the railway between Belgrade and the border with Croatia is already being prepared.
“As soon as the process of approving those funds is completed in Brussels, it will be possible to start using the funds for projects that are ready,” says Negre.
She mentioned that nine billion euros from the grant package will be directed to the preparation of projects and their realization, but also to help implement all structural reforms that are necessary and which will be a precondition for certain investments that are recognized in the plan.
“As for the guarantee fund, it should contribute to the investment of 20 billion euros in the next seven years, significant funds in that period will be directed primarily to private sector investments,” says Negre.
It is about help for all those investments that refer to digitalization, innovations and the transition to sustainable cleaner green energy, and which are riskier, in order to compensate for possible losses, explains Negre.
“We are talking about support for small and medium enterprises, for micro enterprises, for old people, for all those investments that are riskier, and which are again necessary for economic transformation,” Negre said.
She stressed that the aim of this large aid package is to make greater resources and better instruments available to enable further economic and social development of the region and its accession to the EU market.
Comprehensive assistance, he says, is greater than it was in the previous programming period, and the goals are to help connect the countries of the region, above all, by transport, to create better market conditions, to ensure the transition to sustainable development, economy based on digital transformations, but also on ecological development.
Negre mentioned that the great focus will be on the development of railway traffic, as a cleaner, faster and safer type of transport, which she says is insufficiently developed in this part of Europe.
“In Serbia, we are talking about Corridor 10, connecting Belgrade with the border with Croatia, also with Northern Macedonia, the route from Belgrade through Nis to Pristina,” said Negro.
She stressed the importance of continuing work to improve the navigability of rivers in the region, which she said were still under-exploited, most notably the Danube, which is a pan-European corridor, Dnevnik reports.
