TIRANA, July 2 – Western Balkan countries have until July 15 to submit progress reports under the European Union’s Growth Plan after the fourth reporting period ended on June 30.
The European Commission will review the reports before approving payments. Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said the Reform and Growth Facility rewards results. He stressed that the Commission releases funds only after countries fully implement their agreed reforms.
Mercier said countries fully completed or advanced 78% of the reforms scheduled during the first three reporting rounds, while 22% remain stalled. He also warned that the Commission may withhold funding and redirect it to better-performing beneficiaries if countries fail to deliver within one year.
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s chief negotiator with the EU, Jeton Zulfaj, said Kosovo risks losing more than 40 million euro because it failed to implement reforms on time.
Albania remains among the region’s top performers. European Commission data show Albania completed 33 reform steps and earned more than 212 million euro. Montenegro completed 32 reforms and received nearly 90 million euro. North Macedonia implemented 22 reforms and collected more than 142 million euro.
The EU Growth Plan allocates 6 billion euro to the Western Balkans for 2024-2027, including 2 billion euro in grants and 4 billion euro in concessional loans.
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