World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Philippe Le Houerou has stated the bank will increase its assistance to the countries of the Western Balkans.

Le Houerou said the economic situation in the Western Balkans was very difficult and the governments had less options to combat the present crisis than the one that occurred in 2008.

The reason is that the fiscal situation is now worse than four years ago, he explained.

The World Bank is optimistic in the long run, but it is true that a difficult period lies ahead, he noted. Governments will have to make hard decisions regarding public finance and structural reforms, he continued, adding that the World Bank was there to assist.

The bank is stepping up its activites in the Balkans, meaning it can provide more support for budgets and more loans, especially meant for small and medium companies, which is very important and something the bank pays attention to, and also meaning it can continue its investment projects in infrastructure, he told the Dnevni Avaz daily from Sarajevo.