Negotiators from the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an Interinstitutional Agreement on the €6 billion facility plan for the countries of the Western Balkans (see EUROPE 13362/17) on Thursday 4 April.
“This plan provides political encouragement for the accession process, while speeding up genuine structural and institutional reforms”, commented Karlo Ressler (EPP, Croatian).
In detail, the Growth Plan for the Balkans provides for the allocation of €2 billion in grants and €4 billion in loans over the period 2024-2027, to be raised on the financial markets.
However, EU Council and European Parliament negotiators have agreed that the allocation of these envelopes will depend on the implementation of specific reforms in each of the six Western Balkan states, notably in the areas of the rule of law, the fight against corruption, fundamental rights, economic governance, the strengthening of democratic institutions and public administration reform.
“During the negotiations, we agreed to include full alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, including restrictive measures, as one of the key objectives”, said Tonino Picula (S&D, Croatian), deeming this a priority for the European Parliament.
The provisional political agreement also provides for the strengthening of the consultation process with the national parliaments and civil society of the countries benefiting from the facility. A “regular” dialogue will also have to be set up between the Commission and the European Parliament to monitor the progress made by the six Balkan states.
In addition, a provision has been added to ensure that the Growth Plan complements other existing programmes - such as the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance - and to avoid double-funding. This point had often been raised during discussions at the European Parliament and between Member States.
The growth plan, presented by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 16 October 2023 (see EUROPE 13272/16), should serve to increase the region’s integration into the European economy, bring the countries of the Western Balkans closer to the EU’s single market and speed up reforms with a view to EU membership.
“Enlargement is our most powerful geopolitical tool. Win-win”, declared the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on X (formerly Twitter), in the wake of the political agreement on the growth plan.
At present, EU accession negotiations have been opened with four of the six countries of the Western Balkans: North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania. The decision to open negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina was taken by the EU27 on 21 March (see EUROPE 13376/2), but the negotiating framework has yet to be adopted. Negotiations have still not been opened with Kosovo, which has been a candidate for membership since December 2022, even though several Member States do not recognise its independence. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)