(ANSA) - TRIESTE - The Annual Report 2014 of the CEI Fund at the EBRD was presented during the CEI Steering Committee Meeting at the EBRD Headquarters in London. Guido Paolucci, Programme Manager at the Office for the CEI Fund at the EBRD, briefly introduced the main elements of the report.

According to the document, in 2014, the CEI Fund at the EBRD contributed half a million EUR for three Technical Cooperation(TC) projects and more than 330,000 EUR for ten projects aimed at transferring know-how and best practices from EU to non-EU CEI countries. The latter through the CEI Know How Exchange Programme (KEP).

In 2015, the Fund has allocated more than 1.8 million EUR towards non-EU CEI Member States (Western Balkans countries and Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine).

Two of the approved TC assignments will be implemented in Montenegro while one will have a regional impact. ThePreparation of a Preliminary Design and Detailed Design for a new Passenger Terminal at Tivat Airport in Montenegro will be supported with 300,000 EUR and with an expected related investment of 30 million EUR. 48,428 EUR will be committed to the development of the Montenegro Agency for the Protection of Competition.

The regional assignment for Utilisation of Biomass Residues in Primary Agriculture and Food Processing Sectors will be co-financed with 150,000 EUR, with the expected related investment of 45 million EUR.

Among the approved CEI KEP assignments, four are dedicated to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for their recovery after the devastating flooding in the Balkans in May 2014 with a total CEI Fund commitment of 145.000 EUR. Among the CEI instruments, the KEP has proven the quickest and most flexible when it comes to financing emergency actions. One project aims at improving the local capacity for mine risk education and demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the three projects taking place in Serbia focus on water management, disaster prevention and management as well as risk education and water/air quality.

"I am delighted to acknowledge the excellent performance and effectiveness of the Fund in 2014. In the framework of this successful cooperation with the EBRD, Italy achieved remarkable results in supporting economic and social transformation process of non-EU CEI countries, facilitating their European path through regional cooperation" stated Andrea Orizio of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as CEI National Coordinator and representative of the donor country at the CEI Fund at the EBRD, in his Introduction to the Report. Orizio underlined that the Fund would continue to focus on those sectors which are likely to increase investments, including energy efficiency, infrastructure, transport agribusiness, SME development, capacity building and policy dialogue. (ANSA).