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II West Balkans Programme

The Banco de España participates in the II Regional Programme for the Western Balkans (2022-2025), financed by the European Union

Following the success of the first European System of Central Banks (ESCB) regional technical assistance programme in the Western Balkans, which was completed in 2021, the European Union is financing a follow-up project, the “Programme for Strengthening the Central Bank Capacities in the Western Balkans with a view to the integration to the European System of Central Banks – Phase II”, under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III).

The objective of the programme is to strengthen the capacities of the beneficiary institutions, particularly their analytical and macroeconomic policy tools.

This three-year programme was launched in September 2022, and its beneficiaries include the central banks of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (and their two banking supervision agencies), Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Twenty ESCB central banks and the European Central Bank (ECB) participate in the programme.

The Banco de España will continue to play an active role, as it did in the first phase of the programme (Phase I), strengthening institutional relations and its image as a reference in the ESCB in the area of international cooperation.

The first activity of the project took place in Madrid, in December 2022, with the Banco de España organising and hosting a regional training event on Communication, which included experts from the central banks of France and Lithuania and the ECB.

During 2023, the Banco de España has carried out several regional activities:

  • Technology and Cybersecurity (April 2023), in the Bulgarian National Bank
  • Internal Audit (May 2023), in the Bank of Lithuania
  • Legal Services (June 2023), visit to the Banco de España by representatives of the Bank of Albania

Within the framework of the programme, the Banco de España was identified as a preferred institution by the central banks of Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop bilateral activities.