The Western Balkan countries will benefit from a €680 million investment package under the EU's Economic and Investment Plan, President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday.
The announcement took place in the framework of a summit that brought together EU Leaders, including the 27 EU Heads of State or Government, and leaders from the six Western Balkans' partners. The summit underlined the region's proximity to the EU and its EU aspirations.
At a closing press conference, the Commission President announced that the Commission will support five flagship investment projects in the Western Balkans covering rail transport and renewable energies, with an estimated value of €680 million.
One of them, the photovoltaic power plant in Albania, could be ready as early as 2026, which highlights that the benefits for the region from EU investments will be tangible in the very short term.
"Together, we are laying the foundations for sustainable growth and closer integration, demonstrating once again our strong commitment to the region's prosperity and its path towards EU membership," President von der Leyen said of the new investment package.
Tapping into the full economic potential of the Western Balkans
The Commission President also laid out the details of a new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which will spur economic growth in the region and unlock much of its untapped potential.
As part of the Growth Plan, Western Balkans' leaders will be encouraged to complete their Common Regional Market (CMR), structured around the EU's traditional four freedoms of movement of goods, services, capital, and people. A strong and vibrant CMR will facilitate integration into the EU's Single Market later.
The EU will also open its own market to the Western Balkans in seven important sectors, including customs cooperation, cashless payments, and transport.
Also as part of the Growth Plan, President von der Leyen spoke of a financing scheme called the "Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans". It will be based on similar principles as the EU's ambitious NextGenerationEU: "You do reforms, here is the investment that accompanies those reforms," she highlighted.
Inasmuch as the six partners deliver on the fundamental reforms required on their path towards EU membership, the Growth Plan will also deliver additional financing to support further reforms and growth.
On EU track
President von der Leyen also took stock of the formal accession path for all partners following the Commission's enlargement report last month.
In that report, the Commission recommended to start negotiations as soon as possible with Albania and North Macedonia on the so-called fundamentals' cluster, and to start them with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria has been met.
The President commended the renewed momentum for integration in Montenegro with the formation of a new government.
"For both Kosovo and Serbia, the way ahead lies in living up to their commitments under the EU- facilitated Dialogue," the President concluded, welcoming very much very much the decrease in tensions in the north of Kosovo, in particular on the car licence plates, on electricity and on preparations for early municipal elections.
