Lilyana PAVLOVA

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the European Union, will provide a grant of up to €2.9 million to the Government of Montenegro to accelerate the modernisation of the national education system through the upgrade, construction and reconstruction of pre-school, school and vocational school infrastructure in the country. The EIB grant will cover technical and advisory support for project preparation and the public procurement process, and for developing national monitoring and evaluation standards for similar projects. It will accelerate upgrades that are expected to create an additional 2 070 places in schools across Montenegro, and 530 new full-time jobs.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the climate bank of European Union, will provide a €300 000 grant to Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine to conduct an environmental assessment of the Vlašić site of a new windfarm. This technical assistance will facilitate the construction of a 50 MW windfarm in the Travnik region, which will support the transition to renewable, secure and sustainable energy resources, as well as the decarbonisation of the local and Western Balkan economy. As the second grant signed for Bosnia and Herzegovina under the new branch EIB Global, it demonstrates the Bank’s determination to scale up its technical and financial support for addressing the country’s most urgent needs and green transition process

In cooperation with the National Bank of North Macedonia, the European Investment Bank (EIB) co-organized the 8^th International Research Conference on Building Resilience in Times of Crisis: The Role of Policies, on the occasion of 30^th year of monetary sovereignty of the country. The event dealt with current challenges, uncertainty arising from the post-pandemic policy adjustments and the policy response needed for tackling the expanding commodity and energy shocks triggered by the war in Ukraine. It illustrated the reinforced cooperation of the EIB with its partners in North Macedonia and the ongoing support the Bank has been providing for the country’s economic stability and EU integration process for over 40 years.