The European Commission (EC) will provide a €30 million grant to implement the next phase of the Regional Energy Efficiency Program (REEP) to unleash energy efficiency and renewable energy potential of countries known as the Western Balkans Six, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on Friday.
The recipients of the grant include, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.
The REEP program was launched in 2013 as a joint initiative of the EC along with bilateral donors and beneficiary countries cooperating under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), and implemented by the EBRD in close collaboration with the Energy Community Secretariat - the EU organization that puts in place a regulatory framework based on EU rules.
The program will also benefit from €1.8 million contributed by donors to the European Western Balkans Joint Fund, a multi-donor fund and the main source of financing under the Western Balkans Investment Framework, as well as €2.7 million from the Austrian government.
REEP combines medium- to long-term financing with tailor-made technical assistance and support for policies to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in both the private and public sectors in the region, according to the statement.
'Under the next phase of REEP, the EBRD joins efforts with the German Development Bank KfW to continue providing direct and intermediated financing in commercial and public sectors while also launching the first dedicated regional residential sector credit line facility to help unlock the tremendous untapped energy efficiency potential of buildings in the Western Balkans,' the bank noted.
By Dilara Zengin
Anadolu Agency
dilara.zengin@aa.com.tr