Europe's largest investment bank plans to finance some $ 700m ($ 861.98m) projects related to infrastructure upgrading and in the increasing the transport connectivity among the Western Balkan countries.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), owned by European Union member states, uses their capital deposits as security to finance loans for research, infrastructure and environmental projects in Europe and around the world.
"We plan to extend about 700m euros to infrastructure, energy and transport projects in the Western Balkans in 2018," said EAZ Vice President Vazil Hudak for Reuters as the bank introduced its 2017 activities in Bulgaria.The EIB said that has secured about 300m euros in loans, guarantees and new capital investments in the Bulgaria last year.
Hudak said the EIB will continue to focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, continue strong co-operation with public authorities, and will also support tourism and digitalization of the Western Balkans, a region still threatened by a reputation for informality .
The EIB is the most active international financial institution in the Western Balkans relating to credit approval, reaching up to 8 billion euros over the past 10 years.
"The EIB has been very active in the region and we believe it is important to support these countries in the economic recovery," said Hudak.
Bulgaria, which took the six-month lead of the EU presidency in January, said it would push for more projects to help Western Balkan countries approach the bloc. The region is still recovering from the wars that devastated the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
In January, EIB president Werner Hoyer pledged that the bank would co-operate for the success of the Bulgarian presidency and its priorities during a meeting with Balkan country PM Boyko Borisov.
Sofia will host an EU summit and Western Balkans in May, attended by leaders of the six Western Balkan countries - Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.