EU Energy Support Package
On 6 December 2022 leaders of the European Union and the Western Balkans
met in Tirana at the EU-Western Balkans summit. A wider range of support
measures and policy actions were announced – one of them being the new Energy
Support package for the Western Balkans worth altogether EUR 1 billion.
The new Energy Support Package will help the Western Balkans face the
current energy crisis and promote its clean energy transition. The first half
of the EU’s EUR 1 billion package – 500 m Euros - will provide direct funds
to the region’s economies through budget-support measures:
- To balance the increase of energy prices for businesses and the energy
sector
-To keep energy prices affordable especially for vulnerable households
- To support policy measures to accelerate the green energy transition
The second part of the package, the other EUR 500 million, will cover investments to diversify energy supplies and boost renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will also promote the clean energy transition of the region and cut dependency on Russian’s fossil fuels. Serbia will benefit under this tranche of EU funds in the form of a new wind farm in Kostolac and the reconstruction of the Vlasina hydropower plant.
What does Serbia get out of this?
From the first EUR 500 million package of EU budget support, Serbia will
receive directly 165 million Euros, the biggest share among the Western Balkans
partners.