Wednesday, November 25, 2015

US Allocates $134Mln to Advance Balkan Integration With EU, NATO

Soldiers from NATO countries attend an opening ceremony of military exercise 'Saber Strike 2015', at the Gaiziunu Training Range in Pabrade some 60km.(38 miles) north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, June 8, 2015

© AP Photo/ Mindaugas Kulbis
Military & Intelligence

The United States has invested close to $135 million to ensure the Western Balkan states are fully engulfed by the EU-NATO umbrella, the White House said in a press release on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US aid to the Western Balkans, according to the release, is designed to expand trade with Europe, integrate the region into European energy networks and support participation in NATO peacekeeping operations, among other initiatives.
"In Fiscal Year 2015, the United States has allocated more than $134 million for assistance to support the reforms needed to advance the Western Balkans’ integration with the European Union (EU) and NATO," the release stated.
The US aid package included assistance to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, the release added, along with security assistance to EU members Croatia and Slovenia. In September, the United States announced that it was prepared to extend an invitation to Montenegro to join NATO in December. The announcement triggered a wave of protests in the Balkan country

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