TIRANA – The Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI) has launched the Reform Tracker – the first Growth Plan Scoreboard in the Western Balkans – which will serve as the primary public resource for tracking Albania’s progress on reforms and investments under the EU’s Growth Plan.
The Scoreboard consolidates qualitative and quantitative data in one place, tracking Albania’s reform and investment efforts. It aims to monitor and analyse the country’s reform trajectory and foster an informed public debate about progress and good governance.
The tracker evaluates progress across 31 specific reforms grouped into five key areas: public administration, rule of law, economic development, digital transformation, and green transition. Each reform is monitored through a step-by-step lifecycle, from planning to implementation and evaluation.
The platform visualises data through interactive charts and tables, making it easier for the public, civil society organisations, and policymakers to grasp the status and challenges of Albania’s EU-aligned reforms.
Krisela Hackaj, Executive Director of CDI, told European Western Balkans that the Scoreboard provides an impartial, up-to-date, transparent, and data-driven tool for monitoring Albania’s reform efforts linked to EU integration and economic growth.
“Its significance lies in holding the government accountable for its commitments and in providing fact-based information essential for policymaking. Our model incorporates EU best practices from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and initially focuses only on Albania. Originally intended as a tool to empower civil society, its next stage of development will expand its scope and increase its impact on the policymaking cycle,” Hackaj explained.
She noted that civil society organisations (CSOs) are playing an increasingly important role in monitoring reforms under the Reform Agendas, acting both as watchdogs exposing implementation gaps and as advocates for better governance of EU funds, greater transparency, improved oversight, and EU-standard accountability.
“The Growth Plan offers a valuable opportunity to elevate CSO engagement to the level seen in similar EU instruments,” Hackaj added.
At the end of March 2025, the EU began disbursing pre-financing payments under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. North Macedonia and Albania were among the first to receive funds, with Serbia expected to follow.
Hackaj stressed that pre-financing is an automatic payment not linked to reform progress. However, she noted that in March, the Albanian government submitted its first progress report.
“Several strategies have been adopted, including the National Strategy on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, the National Strategy for the Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship, and the Smart Specialisation Strategy. A grant scheme focused on SMEs and startups has also been launched,” she said.
According to Hackaj, the Reform Tracker will go beyond simple reporting by analyzing the impact of reforms on good governance and assessing how this new instrument is preparing Albanian institutions for the country’s EU membership aspirations by 2030.
Since the European Commission decided in September 2024 to decouple Albania’s EU accession process from North Macedonia’s, Albania has opened 16 negotiation chapters. Prime Minister Edi Rama has stated that the country aims to open and close all chapters by 2027.
Asked about the ambition set by the Albanian government in the Reform Agenda, Hackaj said that it is primarily output-driven, with 77% of its outputs consisting of laws, bylaws, reports, and assessments.
“While legal and institutional progress is better documented, the real impact, such as reductions in corruption or boosts to economic growth, will likely remain difficult to measure. But as mentioned, for us, the Growth Plan is about good governance and readiness for EU membership. Although the Reform and Growth Facility is a four-year instrument, we see it as an opportunity to strengthen institutional governance, capacity, and skills needed to implement future EU performance-based instruments,” Hackaj concluded.