European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi will visit the Western Balkans next week, the European Commission said in a press release on Friday, adding that he will be in the region when the first shipment of European Union-funded vaccine is delivered.

“Commissioner Varhelyi will start his visit to the region on Monday afternoon in Serbia, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia on Tuesday, and subsequently Albania and Kosovo on Wednesday. While in the region, he will discuss with the authorities the response to the pandemic as well as the EU’s support in this context,” the press release said.

“I am travelling to the Western Balkans to pass a clear message: We care! We care about our partners, and we care about their health care workers and the most vulnerable. The delivery of the vaccines confirms our continuous commitment to provide support, as we have been doing since the outbreak of the pandemic. Stronger together,” Varhelyi is quoted as saying.

The press release said that the coronavirus vaccines are funded from a 70 million Euro package the European Commission adopted in December 2020 and recalled that the 651,000 BioNTech/Pfizer doses will be delivered to the region in weekly installments from the beginning of May to August.