The economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans will support the realization of the construction of the Bar-Boljare highway and will be a stimulus for the national economy and regional differences, said the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Oliver Varhelyi.
”The plan is designed to start the economic recovery through a significant investment package,” said Varhelyi, eKapija business portal reports.
Addressing members of the Montenegrin parliament, he said Montenegro had received assistance and that the first tranche of 30million euros had been disbursed. He also stated that they plan to mobilize up 9 billion euros, within the framework of grants, in order to support the rapprochement of the EU region.
Varhelyi said that the investment package is structured from ten future initiatives in key areas, namely transport, energy, environment, digital economy, private industry, youth.
”The plan will support the realization of the largest public investment in Montenegro, the construction of the Bar-Boljari highway, which will integrate the state into the regional branch of the Tent-T network,” said Varhelyi.
According to him, it will be a stimulus for the national economy and will respond to social differences between the north and the south.
He said that the railway route connecting Belgrade, Podgorica and the Port of Bar will be renewed from the border to the sea, and the road from Podgorica to Sarajevo was also chosen, because it is an important connection in the region.
According to him, there is a huge gap between the Western region and the EU.
”The sooner we close this gap, the sooner we will create sustainable, strong market economies and you will be able to join the EU faster,” Varhelyi said.
