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The EU remains the Western Balkans’ primary trading partner and investor. But failing to step up engagement and deliver on enlargement promises will come at a high cost and benefit the likes of Russia and China.
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PODGORICA Ecological concerns are piling up on a billion-dollar stretch of new highway through a picturesque river canyon at the confluence of competing influences in the Balkans.
The delayed, 42-kilometer section of Montenegro s Bar-to-Boljare motorway is already under intense scrutiny over the cash-strapped Adriatic coast nation s decision seven years ago to hire a Chinese builder and take on nearly $1 billion in debt to construct it.
This week, under public pressure, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) requested permission to repair a damaged 500-meter section of riverbank on the UNESCO-protected Tara River traversed by the highway.
The Chinese company s proposal on May 10 reportedly included stabilizing the left bank of the waterway under the alpine Matesevo bridge, near a hub for mountain tourism in the area called Kolasin.