March 9 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB), the largest international financial institution working with the Western Balkans, is looking to finance projects in broadband distribution and R&D to continue to support the enterprises in the region, the lender's vice president Vazil Hudak told SeeNews on Friday.
"We are focusing, on the one hand, on broadband distribution which is very important for the competitiveness of the economies," Hudak told SeeNews on the sidelines of a presentation in Sofia of the lender's activities. "The other aspect is the overall innovation [...] and R&D support for enterprises in the Western Balkans."
The EIB is also working with the ministries of the economy in countries in the region to help them develop digital infrastructure, such as 4G and 5G networks, the EIB vice president added.
The bank has approved loans worth 8 billion euro ($9.8 billion) over the past ten years in the Western Balkans. Its subsidiary the European Investment Fund has committed more than 200 million euro, raising more than 900 million euro of investments since 2011.
Following are details about the EIB Group's financing operations in the Western Balkans in 2007-2017 (in millions of euro)
country |
EIB Signatures |
EIB Approvals |
EIB Disbursements |
EIF Committed Amounts as of 2011 |
EIF Leveraged Amounts as of 2011 |
Albania |
143 |
181 |
241 |
17 |
79 |
Bosnia&Herzegovina |
1,658 |
1,953 |
1,535 |
25 |
50 |
Macedonia |
544 |
669 |
514 |
7 |
35 |
Kosovo |
149 |
257 |
105 |
8 |
55 |
Montenegro |
575 |
521 |
395 |
8 |
78 |
Serbia |
3,915 |
4,330 |
3,474 |
139 |
619 |
Total |
6,984 |
7,911 |
6,264 |
204 |
916 |
Source: EIB
In 2017 alone, the EIB approved 664 million euro of new operations, disbursed 548 million euro for investments and signed 330 million euro of new finance in the region.
The projects which the lender backed are quite diverse - from health care to infrastructure as well as SME development, Hudak said during the presentation. Transport and energy are critical areas for the EIB in the Western Balkans, he added.
The bank is also working closely with the Bulgarian government, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2018, Hudak noted. The EU integration of the Western Balkans is among Bulgaria's priorities during its presidency of the Council of the EU.
"As your prime minister Boiko Borissov mentioned, the Western Balkans need more encouragement from the European Union and stronger interconnection with the members of the European Union, especially in the form of pan-European transport corridors and digital infrastructure," Hudak said.
The estimate is that around 30 billion euro is needed to support the construction of pan-European corridors in the Western Balkans, and 5 billion euro to support digital infrastructure development.
"Obviously, there is a lot to be done to fill in the gaps on social infrastructure, to improve projects preparation and to provide economic growth and overall political stability," the EIB vice president concluded.
($ = 0.8122 euro)