The EU has earmarked around €50 million for the restoration of 26 cultural heritage projects in the Western Balkans region as part of the EU's efforts to integrate the region more deeply with the EU.

EU hopes funding for 26 sites will encourage further investment into tourism.

The money will be spent from 2008-10 on restoring archaeological sites, churches and mosques in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, European Voice newspaper reports.

Among the best-known sites are the basilica of St Sophia basilica in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Apollonia archaeological site in Albania, and the Roman city of Siscia in Croatia.

The Commission has said it will cover the costs of one project in each country in the region. Funding for the remainder of the projects will come from national governments and private investment.

Ján Figel, the European commissioner for education and culture, said on 13 May that investing in cultural projects in the region should help to “build bridges between the various ethnic and religious communities within and throughout the countries of the region”.

The Commission hopes the 26 projects will foster reconciliation, cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, but it also selected the sites based on their potential to generate spin-off investments into, for example, infrastructure for tourism.