EU awards almost €11 million to support 281 jobs and build 6 kindergartens across Kosovo

Gazeta Express

30/10/2020 13:47

The EU has awarded 29 contracts this month worth 10.8 million euro in support of Kosovo’s private sector, and to improve access to the labour market, increase employment prospects for the youth, women, and disadvantaged groups in Kosovo. The projects awarded also support early childhood education with the construction of six new kindergartens, the EU Office in Kosovo said in a statement.

Other fields of support include road infrastructure and twinning support to implement EU services directive helping Kosovo businesses and consumers. This EU assistance is part of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) 2016 envelope, whose total amount is 71 million euro.

The Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative, Tomas Szunyog, expressed pleasure for being able to award the contracts. “In the last few weeks, the EU has signed a number of contracts and thus completed the contracting of the IPA Annual Programme of 2016. These projects benefit directly 13 businesses, sustain and create 281 job, including for the underprivileged groups, and provide top class kindergarten facilities for some 700 children across Kosovo: in Pristina, Mazgit/Mazgit, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Gllogoc/Glogovac, Skënderaj/Srbica and Vitomiricë/Vitomirica”, Szunyog said.

According to the EU Office the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) is the main financial instrument to provide EU support to the Western Balkans and Turkey. The support goes towards adopting and implementing the political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms required to comply with the European Union’s values and to align progressively with the EU rules, standards, policies and practices, with a view to EU membership. The assistance contributes to the stability, security and prosperity of the beneficiaries. /GazetaExpress/