On Wednesday 6 March, Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) agreed on the EU Council’s negotiating mandate for the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans.
This Facility, presented on 8 November 2023 by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13288/2), should help the countries of the Western Balkans to undertake a comprehensive set of reforms, support their process of accession to the EU and accelerate their economic convergence with the EU. Covering the period from 2024 to 2027, it is expected to provide up to €2 billion in grants and €4 billion in loans.
According to a Council press release, the approved negotiating mandate further clarifies and develops some of the elements of the Commission’s proposal, including the general and specific objectives of the Facility and the preconditions for EU support.
One of the key changes concerns the strengthening of the Council’s role in the governance of the Facility, in particular in the adoption and amendment of the Reform Agendas, the monitoring of the fulfilment of the preconditions for EU support and the assessment of the fulfilment of payment conditions.
The Council also puts a stronger focus on the Western Balkan countries’ alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, including restrictive measures.
The Presidency of the EU Council will be able to start negotiations on the final text for the Facility with the European Parliament as soon as the Parliament has adopted its own negotiating mandate. On Monday 11 March, the Parliament’s Committees on Foreign Affairs and Budgets will vote on the European Parliament’s draft report on this Facility. The plenary vote could take place during the last plenary session of the term, from 22 to 25 April.
See the Council’s negotiating mandate: https://aeur.eu/f/b67 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)