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CEB, partner organisations kick-off second phase of Western Balkans Investment Framework
16 June 2016
OSLO –The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and other participating institutions finalised a new operational framework to enable the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) to continue operations after a three-year review.
The Adherence Agreements and accompanying documentation were signed on 16 June at the Steering Committee meeting hosted by Norway’s EEA and EU Affairs Minister, Ms Elisabeth Aspaker, in Oslo.
The WBIF was established in 2009 as a multilateral initiative of the EU, international Financial Institutions (IFIs), bilateral donors and the governments of the Western Balkan countries. It finances investment projects to improve infrastructure, foster socio-economic development and speed up EU accession in the Western Balkan countries.
The CEB is one of the founding members of the WBIF. To date, the Bank has approved 19 projects supporting the objectives of the WBIF, with a loan value close to € 500 million and a total project value of almost € 1 billion. Another € 52 million in technical assistance and investment grants from WBIF were blended with these loans.
Six of the CEB member countries are beneficiaries of the WBIF: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.”
The CEB’s present lending to the Western Balkans countries exceeds € 800 million.
Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AA+ with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.