Through the Commission’s Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA),
€76.4 million in EU funding will be provided for filters on the Kosovo* B power plant.

“Air pollution is one of the most acute environmental problems affecting the Western Balkans, including Kosovo*. With this investment, the EU is providing a concrete contribution to improve the environment in Kosovo* and the region, as well as to improve the health and well-being of people”, stressed Borell.

He also added that the EU has been supporting and will continue, as part of the Green Deal ambition, to support a number of actions to improve the environment, increase energy efficiency measures and to make greater use of clean energy and renewables.

The project is expected to lower emissions, contribute to a reliable and clean energy supply, and improve the health and well-being of the population.

It is also expected that the project will reduce air pollution in Kosovo*, lowering the emission of harmful dust by 35 times and nitrogen oxides by 4 times, bringing it in line with EU standards.

Kosovo’s* two power plants in the town of Obiliq, located about 30 kilometers from Pristina are more than 40 years old. According to the World Bank, the power plants are a source of 98% of electricity in Kosovo*. They are fired by lignite, which is considered one of the dirtiest fossil fuels, bringing environmental problems in Kosovo* a decades-old issue.

original source: EU helps tackle air pollution in Kosovo* with €76.4 million - European Western Balkans