The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans was adopted by the Commission on 8 November 2023.
The Plan aims to:
The Growth Plan incentivises enlargement partners’ preparations for EU membership, by bringing forward some of its benefits ahead of full integration into the EU.
This in turn should significantly accelerate the speed of the enlargement process and the growth of their economies.
Economic convergence is an essential element in getting the Western Balkan partners closer to the EU. The lack of convergence is a major issue for the Western Balkan region; it is currently at around 35% of EU average level.
The Growth Plan has the potential to double the size of the Western Balkan economies within the next decade.
To support this process a new €6 billion financial instrument, the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans was adopted for the period 2024-2027.
The Growth Plan will be implemented through a
new financing instrument: the €6 billion Reform
and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans.
The EU will open certain areas of the EU Single Market to the Western Balkan partners prior
to accession bringing tangible benefits to its citizens. The Western Balkans partners will
need to undertake fundamental reforms, align with the acquis and fulfill their obligations
under the Common Regional Market.
The focus will be on the following seven initial priority areas:
Developing a Common Regional Market is essential for two reasons:
To increase socio-economic convergence the Western Balkan partners will need to make reforms in the area of the fundamentals.
Each Western Balkan partner will implement a Reform Agenda with a set of priority reforms broken down into milestones, so-called “payment conditions”. Their completion will trigger the release of funds from the new Growth Plan.
Accelerating the reforms will:
The €6 billion Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans combines
grants and loans. This new instrument will complement the current financial
assistance under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III).
The Facility has a total financial envelope of €6 billion for 2024-2027,
composed of:
At least 50% of total amount (grants and loans) will go to investments
through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). The
remaining amount of loans will benefit Governments in the Western
Balkans. The release of any funds will depend on the progress in the
implementation of the measures contained in the Reform Agendas.
Payments will be done twice a year, based on requests submitted
by the Western Balkan partners and following verification by the
Commission of the achievement of the relevant payment conditions,
pre-conditions and general conditions, such as macro-financial stability,
sound public financial management, transparency and oversight of the
budget.
In case the payment conditions are not met, the Commission will
suspend or deduct a corresponding amount from the payment. The
Western Balkan partner will have 1-2 years to fulfill the conditions,
otherwise the amount will be redistributed among the other ones in the
subsequent years.
Commission approves Reform Agendas of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia
Leaders meet in Brussels
Leaders meet in Kotor
Reform and Growth Facility regulation enters into force
Leaders meet in Tirana
Leaders meet in Skopje
Communication from the Commission on new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans
