European Union leaders have decided not to present the investment package for the Western Balkans at the EU-Western Balkans Zagreb summit on May 6 but, according to a European Commission spokeswoman, work on the investment package will continue.

European Commission spokeswoman told a daily briefing that the focus is on combating the coronavirus pandemic but that work will continue on the economic investment package for the region. We will continue to work on this package but for now, the priority for us is implementing our assistance to tackle Covid-19,” she said.  

“The decision of the EU leaders to hold a video conference with their Western Balkan counterparts absolutely shows that region is a priority for us, especially in these very challenging times because of the coronavirus crisis. The summit will be an opportunity to discuss how best to support our partners to tackle the coronavirus,” she said.  

Pisonero said that the EU “acted very fast to help our partners address the immediate needs in the health sector and also to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the crisis”. “We put on the table a substantial package, more than 410 million Euro plus another 290 million, that will help bring liquidity in cooperation with international financial institutions. You are aware of the latest decision in terms of extra micro-financial assistance. We are really concentrated on deploying this package and implementing it on the ground and we will continue to work on the economic investment package,” she told the daily media briefing.  

Responding to a question by e-mail about the investment package later, Pisonero wrote: “All I can say for now is that we are concentrated now on the COVID response, but we continue to work on the economic investment plan”.