BRUSSELS – Albania and North Macedonia received the pre-financing from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, and Montenegro will receive it this week. All five beneficiaries with approved Reform Agendas also submitted their requests for the payment of the first installment from this instrument by 15 March, which are being assessed by the European Commission, and there is the possibility that the payments will be made in the second and third quarters of this year, said Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement.
Kos participated on Monday in a joint session of the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Budgets (BUDG) of the European Parliament today in Brussels. It was a second dialogue on the Reform and Growth Facility for the region.
The Growth Plan is a new financial instrument aimed at supporting the socio-economic convergence between the six Western Balkan countries and the EU on their path to accession. It consists of €4 billion in highly preferential loans and budgetary guarantees, as well as €2 billion in grants.
In October last year, the Commission adopted an Implementing Decision approving the reform agendas of the Western Balkan countries, which make EU support conditional on the prior fulfilment of reforms. In March, the Commission started disbursing the pre-financing under the Facility to the Western Balkan countries.
Kos underlined that all the partners from the Western Balkans, except for Bosnia and Herzegovina, are implanting their reforms agendas in the rule of law and other key areas but there have been delays both on the sides of the beneficiaries and on the European Commission.
Speaking about the Growth Facility for the WB, she remarked that the reform agendas “have reinforced our dialogue with the partners from the region”.
“We have moved from ambition to action… It is a shared journey, both sides should work more…”, Kos noted, adding that the EC has been engaging closely with Bosnia and Herzegovina to help the country to adopt the Reform Agenda, “for the benefit of the people living there”.
According to Kos, the EU will take care a lot of care about the transparency of the spending of the means envisioned by the Growth Plan.
“Serbia has implemented zero reforms since December 2024, BiH should develop the action plan for the EU accession”
Elaborating on the situation in the individual countries, Marta Kos remarked that she was not satisfied with the development she saw in Serbia.
“Regarding Serbia, we are now evaluating whether we should pay or not pay… The most important for Serbia is to deliver on three media laws, on REM (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media), and on the electoral laws… The new Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament promised me to deliver very soon, but it was promised by the Serbian President at the end of the March… There was zero implementation since December 2024”, she stressed.
Kos added that she was not “100 per cent sure” whether Serbia was following the EU path.
“I would like to finally see the actions, not just to hear the promises… It is the crucial time for Serbia”, she said.
Speaking about the EU path of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marta Kos assessed that it would be better if the country developed a roadmap for the accession process.
Kos also underlined the importance of the civil society organisations in the WB countries concerning the reforms envisioned by the reform agendas.
“The civil society organisations should monitor what the government is doing or not doing… Their role is very important in this process”, she noted.
