September 10 (SeeNews) - The European Commission plans to present a large-scale еconomic and investment plan for the Western Balkans in the coming weeks to help close the economic development gap with the European Union, neighbourhood and enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi has said.
"This new Economic and Investment Plan should concentrate on flagship areas and projects that will directly create long-term growth and much needed jobs; this is also a way to create an attractive investment climate," Varhelyi said in a speech at the Forum on Western Balkans in Berlin, organised by Konrad Adenauer Foundation earlier this week.
These flagship areas that the plan will focus on, are connectivity in transport and energy; the Green Deal; and digital transformation, including basic digital network infrastructure missing in the region, Varhelyi said in the speech, as published on the website of the EC.
"This plan should also reinforce the regional dimension of our co-operation through the mentioned flagship areas and projects, where priority will be given to large-scale actions of regional impact and participation. It is only through this that we can make a real impact," Varhelyi said.
The region has the capacity to present itself as a coherent regional market, based on EU rules and standards, allowing investment to circulate within the region, and well integrated with the EU single market, he added.
In April, the Commission announced a 3.3 billion euro ($3.9 billion) of financial support to the Western Balkans aimed to address the region's immediate health needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic and help with its social and economic recovery.
($ = 0.844747 euro)