Delivered by:
The President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso
Place:
Event:
Western Balkans Investment Summit 2024
Prime ministers, members of government, representatives of the business community, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the EBRD.
It gives me great pleasure to open the sixth Western Balkans Investment Summit at the EBRD.
I am particularly pleased to be able to welcome you for the first time to our new headquarters.
Some of you attended the historic Summit in this same format, which took place – in the presence of all regional Prime Ministers – ten years ago.
Since then, we have met again every two years.
We may need to think about how often we meet in the future, not least because there are now many summits in the Western Balkans – which is a good thing!
Anyway, today, a decade later OUR first event, is a good time to take stock of what we have achieved together.
The 2014 summit effectively launched the “Western Balkan Six” process at prime ministerial level.
Regional cooperation in this new format, in a region with a very difficult history, is now the norm.
Western Balkan prime ministers frequently hold meetings focusing on many topics.
This sends a strong message to the rest of the world that this region has reached new levels of maturity and stability.
In fact, I would say that such intensification of cooperation constitutes one of the great recent successes of the region.
And this is especially important given the memories of It is eventful past.
And also in the light of Russia’s continuing war of aggression against Ukraine and growing geopolitical tensions and political fragmentation elsewhere.
Such cooperation also demonstrates the vision of the region’s leaders.
Let’s all listen carefully to the prime ministers as they explain their countries’ priorities for regional projects later.
I hope you will see a high degree of convergence between them.
Progress in coordination between Western Balkan countries has been accompanied by better cooperation with and between international donors, the European Commission and international financial institutions.
The result is a visible strengthening of how we pool resources to support regional projects, primarily under the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
Under the leadership of the European Commission, better coordination has allowed many larger regional transport and energy projects to be prioritized.
At the EBRD, we look forward to working closely with the European Commission and governments in the region to implement the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
This EU initiative has the potential to be a real game-changer in the region, providing new impetus for much-needed investment and reforms.
We support the New Growth Plan’s approach of highlighting certain benefits of EU membership before accession.
We also welcome the increased attention to reforms associated with the Plan. This is particularly important for the EBRD as supporting reforms is at the heart of our transition mandate. The transition is not just a question of financing and investments, it must be supported by effective policies and economic frameworks.
We have promoted regional integration by carrying out several cross-border infrastructure projects that increase the free flow of trade, competitiveness and opportunities for export growth.
Last week the EBRD Board of Directors approved and later today I will sign on the sidelines of this summit the rail project linking Albania with Montenegro.
But regional integration is not limited to physical infrastructure. Further trade integration with the European single market is a key objective.
The common regional market, promoted by the EU, would also offer substantial benefits to countries and investors in the region.
The region offers strong potential for investors with:
A. favorable corporate tax regimes,
b. a competitive workforce,
vs. and the clear prospect of integration into the European Union.
The region’s residents are well educated, highly skilled and many are talented entrepreneurs.
I have observed this myself during my numerous trips to the region.
During my four years as President of the EBRD – and despite the pandemic – I visited all the countries of the Western Balkans.
As the largest IFI in the region, we have invested more than €18 billion – and a record €1.63 billion last year.
We intend to continue to intensify our activities in the Western Balkans, relying on our network of 6 offices and 150 professionals on the ground to help countries implement their reforms and investments, particularly in the areas green transition, skills, inclusion and digitalization.
The region has come a long way in the last decade, but there is still a big gap between it and the European Union.
According to a new EBRD study on its convergence with EU living standards, it will take between 40 and 70 years or more to close this gap.
These are sobering conclusions.
It is essential that to accelerate convergence we must combine our financing with private capital.
We have therefore worked with other international financial institutions and the European Commission to find ways to achieve this, particularly for large regional infrastructure projects, whether through PPPs or by attracting private investment into the energy sector.
We are doing everything we can to unlock more investment in the region.
But we can attract many more if reforms are implemented.
Such reforms represent one of the most reliable ways to reinvigorate growth and transition.
And there is a need for much stronger administrative capacity to absorb the support available to the region.
In my opinion, the region should focus on three priorities.
First of all, the Western Balkan countries must accelerate their green transition. Additional investments in renewable energy, as well as electricity grids and greater energy efficiency, would help strengthen the region’s resilience to future energy shocks and its economic competitiveness. This is particularly important if the region is to keep pace with the ambitions set by the EU and maintain smooth access to the single market.
We are proud of our support for countries in the region to increase solar and wind power generation through auctions to allocate capacity to investors.
We are really satisfied with the results obtained by Albania and Serbiain particular, have succeeded in obtaining energy at competitive prices and attracting experienced international investors.
We look forward to extending this support to other countries in the region, this year and beyond.
During COP28, I had the pleasure of leading a consortium of international banks and agencies which joined forces with the government of North Macedonia by launching their investment partnership for a just energy transition.
This will help the country mobilize the investments needed to transition from old, polluting coal to a modern, competitive and inexpensive energy system based on renewable energy.
Second, public governance standards should be improved, by reforming state-owned enterprises, fighting corruption and leveraging digital technology. These reforms are essential to build confidence, protect economic stability and attract foreign investment.
Third, the region must be even more open to trade and investment. Deeper integration into global value chains is essential to improve competitiveness and innovation. In times of new trends and new challenges of globalization, there are opportunities that the Western Balkan countries – due to their proximity to EU markets and their competitive advantages – can seize with the appropriate frameworks.
The EBRD has been and will be a strong partner for all Western Balkan countries and our EU partners in this reform agenda.
The Western Balkan countries have been part of the EBRD’s success story almost since the Bank’s inception.
We have led the way in investment in the Western Balkans.
And we are determined to help create the climate and conditions necessary for even greater progress.
Today is another opportunity for us to recognize the region’s many assets.
And then, with investors, transform these assets into real progress for its economies and, more importantly, for its citizens.
THANKS.