(ANSA) - BELGRADE, SEP 2 - The Central European Initiative (CEI) announced that Italy has committed more than €2.1 million to eight technical cooperation projects financed through the CEI Fund at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), reaffirming its role in regional cooperation in Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe. The CEI emphasises the initiative's leverage effect, stating that the more than €2.1 million allocated will facilitate over €450 million in investments by the EBRD and its financial partners. Since 1992, every euro invested in technical assistance through the CEI Fund, one of the Central European Initiative's main operational instruments, has resulted in an average of €250 in international investments, totalling approximately €9 billion. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine are among the countries receiving new funding, which also includes a Western Balkans regional project. Among the planned interventions are support for the energy transition in Bosnia and Herzegovina, development of the biomethane market in Serbia, improved highway tunnel safety in Montenegro, railway sector renovation in North Macedonia, technical assistance for a waste management programme in Moldova, support for investments in the water sector in the Ukrainian city of Rivne, and support for agri-food trade in the Western Balkans. "Thanks to Italy's support and collaboration with the EBRD, we are helping to prepare strategic investments, strengthen local capacities, and support our countries on their path to European integration," said CEI Secretary General Franco Dal Mas. (ANSA).