A top European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) official was quoted by Reuters this week as saying that investments funneled towards Greece and its neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) will be significantly boosted after an agreement is ratified to finally settle the long-standing “name issue”.
“This (resolution) can unlock a lot of projects…Both sides are looking into translating potential political success into very concrete investments,” EBRD Vice President Pierre Heilbronn was quoted by Reuters from the Slovenian resort of Bled.
Heilbronn was referring to the June 2018 “Prespes (Prespa) Agreement” which would change the neighboring country’s constitutional name from “Republic of Macedonia” to “Republic of North Macedonia”.
The EBRD official said the investment bank will particularly focus cross-border projects.
Reuters said the EBRD invested roughly 630 million euros in Greece last year, and 50 million euros in fYRoM, which the news agency refers with the stand-along “Macedonia”.
