EBRD Vice President for Banking Matteo Patrone paid recently a visit to Albania where he had talks with different authorities in Tirana, and on this occasion Albanian Daily News held an extensive interview with him on different issues concerning this WB country and the future cooperation between them.

"In the last 5 years, EBRD has substantially scaled up its operations in Albania, delivering impactful policy assistance and close to EUR 900 million of financing to the Albanian economy, with over EUR 200 million invested in 2024 alone in projects across various sectors, " said EBRD Vice President for Banking Matteo Patrone in the following interview:

Albanian Daily News: First of all, thank you, Mr. Vice President for this interview as you are on a visit to Albania, a member country of the EBRD. Sir, as EBRD is launching its new country strategy for 2025-30, how would you assess the results of the previous strategy in Albania? What do you see as its greatest achievements along Albania's path towards development and a promotion of its endeavour to join the EU?

EBRD Vice President for Banking, Matteo Patrone: I consider our previous 2020-2025 strategy for Albania as successful in delivering progress in all of our key objectives, which were also aligned with the EU accession priorities.

In the last 5 years, EBRD has substantially scaled up its operations in Albania, delivering impactful policy assistance and close to EUR 900 million of financing to the Albanian economy, with over EUR 200 million invested in 2024 alone in projects across various sectors.

As part of our priority to promote better governance and business climate, we continued to support the work of the Albanian Investment Council —and to date, of over 300 recommendations endorsed by the Council, around half have already been implemented by public institutions, resulting in improved legislation, processes, and practices. In my view, this is a clear sign that this platform has been quite effective as far as public-private dialogue goes.

We have worked with the largest state-owned enterprises (“SOE”), such as KESH, OSHEE and Albanian Railways on helping them improve corporate governance, operational efficiency and their capacity to prepare and implement complex projects in accordance with best international standards. Coupled with our long-term financing of the important capital investments by these SOEs, the technical assistance provided is instrumental to their future sustainability.

In support of private sector competitiveness, we have joined forces with our partner financial institutions in the country to expand access to finance for the SMEs and corporates, through targeted credit lines and risk-sharing instruments. We focused on addressing financial barriers in critical sectors like agribusiness and tourism, through dedicated programmes, such as the Albanian Agribusiness and Tourism Support Framework (AATSF), which has enabled more than 6,000 loans and delivered technical assistance to the agribusinesses and tourism firms in the country.

Foreign direct investments also play a significant part in boosting the local economy and bringing best practices.  We supported the entry of such international groups as Yilidirim Group, Voltalia, and Lidl, helping Albania become part of the global value chains.

Diversification of the renewable energy sources has been a major focus, and through our flagship Renewable Energy Programme, we helped the Government of Albania successfully deliver four competitive auctions since 2020—three for solar and one for wind—resulting in over 800 MW of capacity.

Another major achievement, bringing Albania—and the Western Balkans—closer to the EU, is the progress made in enhancing regional connectivity.

Historically, rail infrastructure in the region has suffered from underinvestment, as countries prioritized road development to address poor connectivity. In Albania, we are working with the government, the Albanian Railways and our co-financing partners, EIB and EU, on rebuilding the railway capacity, driving sector reform and financing rehabilitation of several key railway lines.  In addition to the Tirane-Durres railway line, which is the most advanced project to date, a notable highlight was securing the largest EU grant funding for the Vorë-Hani i Hotit project.

- With EBRD supporting so many significant projects in Albania over the years, could you share which project is your favorite and which you believe is the most beneficial for the country?

- Considering the importance of energy security and the benefits of green energy, I would say, it is our Renewable Energy Programme, whereby we advise the government on designing and running solar and wind energy auctions and legislative framework, such as Power Sector Law, while also mobilising financing for the implementation of renewable energy projects. This work brings transformative benefits because it helps the government to procure utility scale renewable energy capacities which will be built with entirely private sector capital, while providing guaranteed energy to the Albanian people at the cheapest tariffs in Europe.

Additionally, it has positioned Albania as an attractive destination for international renewable energy investors. Following the first solar auction, we co-financed Albania's first large utility-scale solar photovoltaic facility built by Voltalia. This is a very good example of how our policy engagement and investment go hand in hand to maximize the impact.

- The year 2025; what are the objectives of EBRD’s new strategy for Albania?

- The approval of our new strategy in Albania coincides with significant advancements in EU accession negotiations and the implementation of the EU Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, which provides a strong impetus for structural reforms in business, human capital, the green transition, and governance. Looking forward, as we implement our new strategy in 2025-30, we want to reaffirm our strong focus on supporting the country's reform commitments for EU accession.

Our priority is to Accelerate Transition to Green Economy by further advancing its renewable energy development. We will continue our assistance with legal and regulatory framework, design of the competitive auctions and support for the grid modernisation, including storage solutions and cross-border expansion. Our efforts will also focus on upgrading energy networks, boosting regional integration, and developing offshore wind projects to further diversify Albania's clean energy capacity and help Albania achieve its ambition to become net exporter of energy.

In our second priority, aligned with the country’s EU accession plans, we aim to assist the private sector by driving innovation and boosting access to finance across Albania’s economy, particularly for businesses looking to enter the EU market. Our financing, which includes credit lines and risk-sharing instruments, supports SMEs and key sectors of the economy. Another focus is improving human capital, with a strong emphasis on vocational training in tourism and energy, while also fostering financial inclusion for women and young entrepreneurs.

Our third priority is to enhance economic governance, improve the investment climate, and upgrade infrastructure. We aim to facilitate important Foreign Direct Investments and economic growth by helping improve infrastructure and regulations, while promoting best practices in governance.

These initiatives will support Albania’s broader goals for economic development, sustainability, and EU integration over the next five years.

- Please let me touch about another issue: Why is a European Bank expanding happening into the Sub-Saharan Africa? Does this mean a shift of the focus, or Europe continues to remain at the core of the EBRD’s work?

- A recent EBRD milestone was our shareholders’ approval for our limited and incremental expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and also Iraq. We are already active in three continents, and we aim to   start investing in up to six countries (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal) in SSA.

Our focus on the private sector and green investments, policy work, expertise in the SME sector and presence on the ground delivering small projects will contribute real added value to the region, as well as complement the activities of others.?

There are growing economic links between the Bank’s current countries of operations and sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.  Our distinct business model, which also brings in the policy dimension, local presence, capacity to do small projects, local currency and financial and advisory support for SMEs, can complement the work of existing development partners and accelerate transition in sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.

Our previous expansions to SEMED (southern and eastern Mediterranean) and Turkey have shown that we can be effective without crowding out the local market, but instead crowding in investment, and creating the business and regulatory environment which enables it. 

Our shareholders’ decision sends a strong signal that the Bank has the capacity and ability to provide support in the region as well as deploying significant resources in Ukraine, and continue fully supporting our projects across the existing 36 economies we work in. Therefore, Europe continues to be one of EBRD’s key priority regions, within which Albania plays a very important role. We are not planning to decrease our level of effort in Albania, which remains an important part of the Bank’s strategy.

Expanding our operations into Sub-Saharan Africa will not require any extra capital.

- How do you see your position within the “family” of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)?

- The EBRD is a unique player within the global network of multilateral development banks.

Our mandate is centered on supporting the transition to sustainable market economies, in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, and more recently in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its focus is clear – the EBRD works to catalyse private sector growth and innovation by providing financing and technical expertise in key sectors like energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and technology. It has always been committed to ensuring that the investments it makes help bring about sustainable economic growth, with a focus on transparency, governance, and sustainability.

What really makes the EBRD stand out, though, is how it combines investment with a specific transition mandate. We don’t focus just purely on development, the EBRD’s mission is to support countries in their move from centrally planned to market-based economies. This means the bank actively helps to reform sectors, improve governance, and promote private sector competitiveness. It isn’t just about funding projects – it’s about making economies more robust, resilient, and integrated with global markets.

The Bank’s European backbone (all EU countries are shareholders and the EU holds a majority stake), allows EBRD to align closely with EU priorities, especially in areas like green growth, energy transition, and regional stability. It also ensures that the EBRD is well-placed to facilitate greater integration between the EU and its neighbouring regions, supporting the EU’s broader goals of cohesion and stability in its eastern and southern periphery.

In short, the EBRD’s European foundation and unique mandate allow it to play a central role in driving economic development and market transformation in its regions, supporting countries in their journey towards market-oriented economies while promoting sustainability, private sector development, and stronger EU ties.

- Three years have passed since the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Has the war affected EBRD's specific activities in any way and secondly does the Bank intend to help Ukraine reconstruction when hopefully the war is over?

- The EBRD has stood by Ukraine since day 1 of Russia's full-scale invasion, and our priority remains supporting Ukraine, where we are the number one institutional investor. We are fully ready and fully equipped to stand by Ukraine during the war and further down the line, during the reconstruction.

We have significantly stepped up our investments in Ukraine since the start of war, deploying EUR 6.3 billion for the Ukrainian economy since February 2022.  Last year, we deployed a record EUR 2.4 billion, above our annual target of EUR 1.5-2 billion in wartime. We intend to step up further in reconstruction.

To mitigate the widespread electricity shortages Ukraine is experiencing as a result of Russian attacks on its power generation system, the EBRD focussed its energy investments on financing for decentralised small-scale generation capacity helping ensure uninterrupted energy supply to Ukrainian people and businesses. For the same reason, the Bank has been providing emergency support to the national electricity grid operator to facilitate critical repairs of the damaged infrastructure.

Our priority in 2025 continues to be supporting Ukraine’s real economy, because the healthier the economy remains in wartime, the less costly the country’s reconstruction and recovery will be. This year, we plan to continue supporting investments across our five priority areas (energy security, vital infrastructure, food security, trade and support for the private sector). 

In addition to providing crucial financing for Ukraine’s real economy, we are also working on helping Ukraine prepare for reconstruction – whenever that might be. We’re working with the World Bank and EIB on building up Ukraine’s capacity to manage public investment and increasing their expertise to implement a huge programme of infrastructure projects which will be needed.

As one concrete example, we’re working with government partners and IFIs to create a single project pipeline for all reconstruction projects. We don’t know when full scale reconstruction will begin, but we know that there will be many priority projects that will need to be implemented at the same time. This single project pipeline will ensure all actors who will be involved in big reconstruction projects – donors, IFIs, government agencies, ministries, main SOEs – will have a very clear idea on what the priority investments are, who will finance and how, and which body is responsible for the project implementation.

This is beneficial not only to ensure efficient use of the funds and swift project execution, but it also implements high standards around transparency and governance. / ADN