In Skopje on Monday, European Union (EU) executive’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a 6 billion euros investment plan to support the Western Balkans countries in pursuing necessary reforms for integration into the EU. Von der Leyen encouraged North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to take advantage of the “window of opportunity” for EU enlargement and work towards aligning their standards with those of the bloc.
The EU’s growth plan for the region involves opening its common market to the Western Balkan countries in sectors such as free movement of goods and services, transport, and energy. The plan also emphasizes the need for the countries to establish a common regional market and continue with essential reforms.
For instance, North Macedonia must focus on reforming its business environment, establishing an efficient public administration, ensuring sound public finances, and enhancing the fight against corruption. Moreover, it needs to amend the constitution to recognize Bulgarians as a minority, as requested by Bulgaria to facilitate its EU membership.
Von der Leyen highlighted that these reforms would be supported by significant investments. During a news conference with North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, she announced a 6 billion euro ($6.34 billion) package for the Western Balkan partners.
In addition, the EU is ready to disburse 100 million euros in microfinancial assistance and aims to bring the economies of the Western Balkan countries closer to the EU’s level. Currently, these economies account for approximately 42% of the EU average income, and the goal is to double their economy within the next decade.
Although the region was promised EU membership years ago, the accession process has been slow due to reluctance among the 27 EU members and a lack of reform within the region. Serbia and Montenegro have initiated EU membership talks, while Albania and North Macedonia began talks with Brussels last year. However, Bosnia and Kosovo still lag far behind their neighbors in the process.
($1 = 0.9458 euros)
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Alison Williams and Ed Osmond)
