The European Commission said on Friday that a new European Union project has been launched to support vaccination efforts in the Western Balkans.

“The European Union in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new regional project worth over Seven million Euro to support safe and effective vaccination of the populations across the Western Balkans,” a press release said. It added that the project will help prepare the region for the effective reception and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, including those received from COVAX and through the EU vaccine sharing mechanism with EU Member States. “It will also help improve the region’s resilience against health emergencies, and support it in moving towards sustainable funding for universal health care,” it said.

The press release quoted Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi as saying that the project shows that the EU “continues to deliver on its commitment to support our partners in dealing with the pandemic since its start”. “The project comes on top of our €70 million package to support access to vaccines for the region and to procure the necessary equipment for the campaigns,” he said.