October 27 (SeeNews) - The European Union is expected to provide 80 million euro ($80 million) in budget support to North Macedonia by the end of the year to help the country tackle the ongoing energy crisis, the government in Skopje said. The government expects to be able to withdraw the funds in January next year, it said in a press release on Wednesday. "We are now putting forward an energy support package for the whole Western Balkan region. It begins with 80 million euro in grants here for North Macedonia as immediate budget support. It will help address the impact of the high energy prices on your citizens and on your businesses," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said during a joint press conference with North Macedonia's prime minister Dimitar Kovacevski, published on the government's website. "We will finalise this by the end of the year so that you can get the funding already in January," von der Leyen added. Kovachevski empasised that EU is concidering additional financial support and regional aid to stabilise the production of electricity. ($ = 0.99629 euro)