Please enable JavaScript to view the page content.
Your support ID is: 922537945369613853.

This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submission.

What code is in the image?
submit

Your support ID is: 922537945369613853.

• The project provides improved and affordable access to water and wastewater services to more than 90 000 people in the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality in Kosovo.
• This is the first EIB investment in wastewater and environmental protection in Kosovo.
• The improved sanitation infrastructure will increase economic and social resilience to natural disasters such as COVID-19.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest €11 million to improve wastewater management and provide affordable access to water and wastewater services for more than 90 000 people in the municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane in Kosovo. Investment from the EU bank will enable construction of a wastewater treatment plant and related sewerage network, and the revitalisation of key infrastructure in the environmental protection sector.

The investment will reduce the pollution of local water, including the risk of trans-border water contamination. New sanitary infrastructure will also improve the quality and efficiency of public health and increase municipal resilience to natural disasters such as COVID-19. The investment comes under the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative, which aims to improve vital infrastructure in the Western Balkans and foster social and economic progress in the region. Supporting critical environmental infrastructure is a key part of the EU and EIB strategy for the Western Balkans.

EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco said: “We are glad to support this project that will improve living standards for thousands of people in Gjilan/Gnjilane by providing a modern and affordable wastewater management system. On a larger-scale, it will contribute to socio-economic progress and regional connections, and improve preparedness for pandemic and emergency situations. Finally, we hope this financing will bring Kosovo closer to EU environmental requirements and support the transition of the Western Balkan countries towards the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Besnik Beslimi, Minister of Finance and Transfer in the Republic of Kosovo, added: “The Kosovo Government intends to finance in the medium term the transformation of the wastewater sector in order to improve the quality of life of its citizens and protect the environment for the future generations. We are keen on financing the wastewater projects with European Investment Bank as a partner that has a long track record and reputation for financing water projects. The Gjilan/Gnjilane project signed today and the project of Mitrovica that is going to be signed later this year are in accordance with our Water Strategy.”

“Kosovo’s lack of facilities for treating sewage, urbanization and development often result in contaminated rivers and groundwater due to discharge of sewage without treatment and disposal of solid waste into them,” said Nataliya Apostolova, Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative. “For this reason, the EU has decided to help Kosovo meet the cost of installing wastewater treatment plants and ensuring their efficient operation. One such intervention is our grant support through the Western Balkans Investment Framework for construction of the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Gjilan/Gnjilane, which we believe will significantly improve the water quality for the people in the region.”

The project is co-financed by EBRD (€10 million). In addition, the project will benefit from a €3.1 million EU grant from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) to support project preparation and implementation.

Background information

About the EIB in the Balkans

The EIB is a leading international financier in the Western Balkans. Since 2007, the Bank has financed projects totalling almost €8 billion in the region. Besides continuing its support for the reconstruction and upgrading of public infrastructure, since 2010 the EIB has expanded into many new areas, such as healthcare, research and development, education and SMEs.

Detailed information on EIB activities in the Western Balkans

More information regarding the EIB’s projects in Kosovo

Economic Resilience Initiative

The Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) was created in 2016 in response to a call from the European Council. The objective of the initiative is to help shift patterns of migration in the medium to long term and provide support to forcibly displaced populations by increasing the resilience of economies to future shocks. The ERI is doing this by mobilising finance to support growth, job creation, vital infrastructure projects and social cohesion in the EU’s neighbouring regions.

Western Balkans Investment Framework

The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) is a regional blending facility supporting EU enlargement and socio-economic development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The WBIF was established in 2009 as a joint initiative of the European Commission, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and several bilateral donors.

About Team Europe and the COVID-19 response in the Western Balkans

As part of the #TeamEurope strategy, the EU’s global response to COVID-19, the EIB Group has rapidly mobilised €5.2 billion outside the EU, accelerating financing and targeted technical assistance. For the Western Balkan countries specifically, the EIB has prepared an immediate support package of €1.7 billion primarily for the SME and healthcare sectors. The total EU financial support package for the Western Balkans amounts to more than €3.3 billion. 

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

• The EIB and the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine sign a cooperation agreement to facilitate the preparation of the country’s Public Buildings Energy Efficiency project.
• The cooperation includes a €150 000 donation by the EPTATF.
• The project, expected to be further financed by a €300 million EIB loan and by substantial grant contributions from the E5P and the EU, will increase energy efficiency in 1 000 buildings (mainly kindergartens, hospitals and schools), save more than 1 million tonnes of CO₂ and benefit 2.5 million people. The EIB is in discussions with the E5P and the EU for further substantial grant contributions to this programme.
• By including COVID-19 measures, the project will also improve the medium and long-term pandemic resilience of hospitals.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the European Union, and the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine have concluded a cooperation agreement on advisory services to support the preparation of Ukraine’s Public Buildings Energy Efficiency project. The agreement was signed today ahead of the upcoming donor meeting of the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF), which will provide €150 000 to support the implementation of this agreement.

The Ukraine Public Buildings Energy Efficiency project is expected to be further financed by an EIB loan of €300 million and by grant contributions from the E5P and the EU on top of the advisory services. It will address the main sectoral bottlenecks, namely the lack of long-term funds for small and medium-sized Ukrainian municipalities, as well as the lack of support throughout the entire energy efficiency sub-project cycle, including design review, procurement, contract administration, monitoring and supervision of construction, commissioning, testing and acceptance. Significant positive economic impacts can be achieved by scaling up investment and with substantial technical assistance support.

The project will increase energy efficiency in 1 000 buildings, mainly kindergartens, hospitals and schools. It will help save more than 1 million tonnes of CO₂ and benefit 2.5 million people across the country. By including COVID-19 safety measures, the project will also improve the medium and long-term pandemic resilience of public buildings, and in particular of hospitals.

Jean-Eric de Zagon, Head of the EIB Representation in Ukraine commented: “The EPTATF grant from donor countries promotes close cooperation between the EIB and Ukraine on increasing the energy efficiency of public buildings in the country. As the EU’s climate bank, this is a priority. The project will improve the living conditions of Ukrainians, lead to significant energy savings with positive impacts on climate change, and reduce heating costs and Ukraine’s dependency on energy imports.”

Vasyl Lozinskyi, First Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine stated: “The Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine and the EIB have signed an agreement for the provision of a long-term low-interest loan of €300 million to implement the wide-scale thermal modernisation of public buildings. This modernisation will include the installation of advanced energy-efficient equipment, meters and control systems as well as the upgrade of heating, ventilation and lighting systems, etc.”

About EPTATF

The Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) is a multi-purpose and multi-sector funding instrument for specific technical support in the Eastern Partnership countries. It provides these countries with know-how and resources to improve capacity in project preparation and implementation, which facilitates the mobilisation of financing for EIB-supported investments. The EPTATF provides high added value because better project preparation increases the bankability of projects and improves the development impact of investments in the beneficiary countries.

News of this outbreak was first announced by the region’s governor, Bobo Boloko Bolumbu, on local radio and confirmed later that day by the DRC’s Minister of Health and WHO’s Director General. Response measures have been set in motion, including the testing of samples and contract tracing, with additional staff being deployed to Mbandaka on 2 June 2020.

Between May and July 2018, the ninth Ebola outbreak in the DRC took place in the same area, in and around the city of Mbandaka, leading to a total of 54 cases including 33 deaths. According to WHO, the current event seems to be separate from the tenth Ebola outbreak which has been in its final stages in the eastern part of the country almost a thousand kilometres away, with 3 463 reported cases including 2 280 deaths so far. Sequencing is ongoing to confirm this outbreak as a separate event. If confirmed, this would be the DRC’s eleventh outbreak of Ebola virus disease since 1976 when it was first discovered.

In addition to Ebola, the country is currently battling other major outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic (3 195 cases including 72 deaths) and a measles outbreak (369 520 cases including 6 779 deaths). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has been on lockdown since mid-March 2020, with the closure of all borders for non-essential traffic and a ban on all trips between the capital and the country’s 25 provinces.

ECDC assessment

Ebola outbreaks in the DRC are not unexpected as the virus is present in an animal reservoir in many parts of the country. Implementing response measures is crucial and a high level of surveillance is essential to detect and interrupt further transmission early. Response measures may prove to be challenging, given the other outbreaks ongoing in the country. The overall risk to the EU/EEA is very low, especially with the current limitation on travel.

ESMA’s technical advice details how to specify the conditions under which the commercial terms for the provision of clearing services are to be considered FRANDT. The final report containing ESMA’s technical advice takes into account the feedback received, aiming to strike a balance between improving clearing client’s access to clearing services and ensuring such services are provided on FRANDT compliant terms, while ensuring the requirements are proportionate and within the mandate received.

The requirements covered in this technical advice have been carefully designed to address clearing clients and clearing service providers’ concerns and aims to:

·         facilitate comparability of the information disclosed;

·         address the process of onboarding clearing clients;

·         standardise the information disclosed to clients bilaterally; and

·         encourage further standardisation of contractual terms.

As part of a broader effort to facilitate access to clearing, the EMIR review (Refit), has introduced the requirement for clearing members and clients who provide clearing services to do so under FRANDT terms by June 2021. The EC is mandated to develop a delegated act to define the requirements for such FRANDT terms and tasked ESMA in June 2019 with producing technical advice on the FRANDT terms as input for the development of the delegated act.

The final report on the technical advice has been sent to the EC.