The EIB has been active in the Western Balkans since 1977. Since 2000, our priorities in the country have been to support the private sector through credit lines enhancing access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps, as well as key transport infrastructure, both at regional and Trans European Transport Networks level. We made the country’s energy transmission networks more reliable and supported the reconstruction of flood protection facilities along the Sava and its tributaries, to safeguard the agricultural, industrial and housing areas prone to floods. The investment was also supported by the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative. Most recently, along an EU grant, a total of EUR 204m was deployed to finance the upgrade of the road network and the pan-European corridor Vc connecting the port of Ploče on the Adriatic Sea with Budapest. Efforts have been made by the EIB to support the local economy through a network of local banks to back SMEs (80% of EIB’s total lending in the country), skills and innovation, energy and environmental protection in the country.