Western Balkans: six billion euros from the EU for economic convergence

The rotating Belgian presidency of the EU Council announced in a tweet that the ambassadors to the EU have agreed on the EU Council's negotiating mandate on "a future reform and growth instrument for the Western Balkans " worth 6 billion euros in loans and grants. The proposed instrument aims to support the economic convergence towards EU standards of the partners in the Western Balkans. The objective is to be able to undertake a structural transition towards wide-ranging reforms.

The support instrument is part of the development of policy to facilitate the gradual integration of the Western Balkan countries into the European Union. The dossier was followed by EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.  

On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the first of seven countries to join the EU, while Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are candidate countries. Accession negotiations were started and negotiating chapters opened with Montenegro and Serbia, negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia were opened in July 2022, and Kosovo applied for EU membership in December 2022.

The help of the European Union remains essential to resolve the main unresolved issues, such as: the functioning and unification of the institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, relations between Serbia and Kosovo, political stabilization in Albania, overcoming ethnic differences in Macedonia, the implementation of the paths for Euro-Atlantic integration.

Staff @euroeconomie.it