A 100-euro note (Photo: VNA/AFP)

Oliver Varhelyi, EU commissioner responsible for the increase, said the package will provide funding for the western Balkans and thus help the economy in the region, he added. The money will be invested to improve the region's connectivity, infrastructure, environment and climate, as well as energy and digitization, said Varhelyi. As well as improving convergence with the EU, he said it would bring "tangible benefits for citizens" in the candidate nations - Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.