SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), February 9 (SeeNews) – The European Commission (EC) is providing a 30 million euro ($32 million) grant to unleash the energy efficiency and renewable energy potential of six countries in the Western Balkans, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), EC's partner in the project, said on Thursday.
The funding will go to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia to help them implement the next phase of the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme (REEP), the EBRD said in a statement.
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The REEP programme was launched in 2013 as a joint initiative of the EC, bilateral donors and beneficiary countries cooperating under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), and implemented by the EBRD in close collaboration with the Energy Community Secretariat.
Under the next phase of REEP, the EBRD joins efforts with the German development bank KfW to continue providing direct and intermediated financing in commercial and public sectors while also launching the first dedicated regional residential sector credit line facility to help unlock the untapped energy efficiency potential of buildings in the Western Balkans, the lender said.
The programme will also benefit from 1.8 million euro contributed by donors to the European Western Balkans Joint Fund, a multi-donor fund and the main source of financing under the WBIF, as well as 2.7 million euro from the government of Austria.
The REEP programme encourages the private and public sectors to take a leading role in promoting energy efficiency as envisaged in countries’ national energy efficiency action plans, developed as part of the Energy Community process. The programme builds on the success of the EBRD’s integrated approach to developing green economy markets and financing.
Over the past 10 years the EBRD has provided over 2 billion euro for the implementation of green investments in the six Western Balkans countries.
($=0.9362 euro)