The Annual Report 2017 of the CEI Fund at the EBRD contributed by Italy was presented during the CEI Steering Committee Meeting at the EBRD Headquarters in London on 19 April 2018.
According to the document, in 2017, the CEI Fund at the EBRD committed more than 1.3 million EUR for twelve Technical Cooperation projects. This support is primarily intended to contribute to the preparation and implementation of the EBRD’s investment operations and is traditionally offered in the form of grant-type assistance for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, project implementation, and pre-loan audits. These projects, approved in 2017, are expected to generate investments in the region of more than €600 million. The strategic sectors are e.g. energy, transport, institutional development and finance.
The Fund also committed more than 300,000 EUR for ten projects in the framework of the CEI Know-how Exchange Programme (KEP) - a development instrument aimed at supporting the transfer of experience from institutions in the EU to peers in the non-EU countries within the CEI region.
On the occasion of the gathering held in London, the recent developments in the CEI-EBRD cooperation were reviewed by representatives of the CEI Member States. EBRD representatives contributed to the debate highlighting the EBRD’s role in the Western Balkans Connectivity Agenda as well as the EBRD’s Energy Efficiency Programmes and the EBRD’s Small Business Initiative in CEI countries.
Furthermore, additional commitments for 2018 were approved with an allocation of around 1.3 million EUR for projects to be selected during the year.
As a founding member as well as main financial contributor to the CEI, Italy remains committed to supporting the Initiative in its essential goal of providing a forum for cooperation among its Member States and of bringing Western Balkan and Eastern European Countries closer to one another, assisting them on their path towards the European Union. Regional cooperation represents a key tool not only to promote economic development, but also to ease regional tensions and to encourage stability and reconciliation.
According to the document, in 2017, the CEI Fund at the EBRD committed more than 1.3 million EUR for twelve Technical Cooperation projects. This support is primarily intended to contribute to the preparation and implementation of the EBRD’s investment operations and is traditionally offered in the form of grant-type assistance for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, project implementation, and pre-loan audits. These projects, approved in 2017, are expected to generate investments in the region of more than €600 million. The strategic sectors are e.g. energy, transport, institutional development and finance.
The Fund also committed more than 300,000 EUR for ten projects in the framework of the CEI Know-how Exchange Programme (KEP) - a development instrument aimed at supporting the transfer of experience from institutions in the EU to peers in the non-EU countries within the CEI region.
On the occasion of the gathering held in London, the recent developments in the CEI-EBRD cooperation were reviewed by representatives of the CEI Member States. EBRD representatives contributed to the debate highlighting the EBRD’s role in the Western Balkans Connectivity Agenda as well as the EBRD’s Energy Efficiency Programmes and the EBRD’s Small Business Initiative in CEI countries.
Furthermore, additional commitments for 2018 were approved with an allocation of around 1.3 million EUR for projects to be selected during the year.
As a founding member as well as main financial contributor to the CEI, Italy remains committed to supporting the Initiative in its essential goal of providing a forum for cooperation among its Member States and of bringing Western Balkan and Eastern European Countries closer to one another, assisting them on their path towards the European Union. Regional cooperation represents a key tool not only to promote economic development, but also to ease regional tensions and to encourage stability and reconciliation.