Gordana Kovacevic
- European Investment Bank
- Communication Department
- Vladimira Popovića 38-40
- 11070 Belgrade
- Serbia
The European Investment Bank (EIB Global) has appointed Damien Sorrell as its new Head of the Regional Hub for the Western Balkans. He succeeds Alessandro Bragonzi, who will continue his career at the Bank’s headquarters. Through this new leadership, and alongside its partners, the Bank will remain committed to supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy, fostering alignment with EU standards and driving economic growth in the Western Balkans.
To spur growth, employment, and the green transition, the European Union has provided a €160 million financial package to support Serbian businesses. This initiative, which was announced today at a ceremony in Belgrade, is the result of a partnership between EIB Global of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Banca Intesa and Intesa Leasing, as part of a wider collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo, a banking group leading in Europe. The funds will be available at favourable terms to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in order to address their working capital and investment needs, as well as to boost green investments in renewable energy, clean transportation and energy efficiency projects. This support will benefit around 240 companies and protect around 25 000 jobs, thus driving climate resilience and competitiveness in the local economy.
The representation of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in BiH is celebrating the fifth anniversary since its opening. With over €900 million allocated to new investments since 2019, the EIB has provided favourable financial conditions to projects across the country, often combined with grants from the European Union channelled through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). The lion’s share of the funds have been allocated to the transportation sector (€590 million), as well as to support for small and medium companies (€155 million) through favourable credit lines, followed by investments in the water, energy, healthcare and education sectors. In terms of technical support, the Bank has provided some €3 million in grants from its own Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), while €10.5 million of advisory services have been delivered through the WBIF. These funds have backed the preparation and implementation of projects.