The mid-term picture of the implementation of the Growth Plan is highly uneven. While some countries are making steady progress in implementing reforms and drawing down EU funding, others are moving slowly – or barely at all.
Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia are broadly on track. Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are lagging behind.
The Growth Plan aims to accelerate the region’s integration into the EU single market and support reforms through performance-based financing. Payments are made twice a year, based on progress reports submitted by beneficiaries. The European Commission then assesses whether individual reform milestones have been met. Each milestone effectively comes with its own price tag, and payments are released according to the level of implementation.
