EU Creates a Fund for Western Balkans
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Finance ministers of EU member-states will propose, later this week, a set of simplified procedures for payment of one billion EUR worth of assistance for the Western Balkans.
The Ministers will also propose, as reported, to gather diverse funds under a single roof, to secure more efficient implementation of priority infrastructure projects in the Balkans. The media reports state that this initiative is a continuation of European Commission proposals of March 2008, aimed to maintain public support for EU membership in the Balkans. An EU representative says that the initiative aims to circumvent the bureaucratic delays that appear when approval of funding is needed from several institutions, which is true particularly with projects involving more than one country. EC report of March this year states that the European Investment Bank intends to increase the loan fund for the Western Balkans for the period 2008-2010 from current 1.9 to 2.8 billion EUR. |
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