McAllister: Western Balkans Countries Which Stagnate Won’t Get Money from New EU Fund Worth EUR 6 Billion

The chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister, stated today that the countries of the Western Balkans which stagnated with the reforms, which didn’t progress on the road to the EU and which didn’t harmonize their external and security policies with the EU policies would not be able to get money from the new Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility.

The European Commission today presents to the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Committee on Budgets of the European Parliament its proposition for the Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility, worth EUR 6 billion.

– The EP has several times emphasized the importance of a strong conditioning of all the pre-accession funds, which has to be under coherent, consistent and transparent control of a result-based framework. It has to be clear that, if countries are regressing or stagnating in fundamental values and not harmonizing their external and security policies with the EU policies, they will not be able to get money from the new Facility – McAllister said at the session.

The Instrument is the central part of the Western Balkans Growth Plan of the EU, which aims to accelerate the reforms and the social and economic nearing of the region to the Union. The new financial instrument envisages EUR 2 billion in grants and EUR 4 billion in favorable loans in the 2024-2027 period.

Gert Jan Koopman, the director-general for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, stated at today’s session that the convergence of the Western Balkans, in the sense of the per capita GDP expressed in the standards of purchasing power, remained low, amounting to around 30% of the EU average and not progressing fast enough, requiring aid to the reform processes of the future EU member states.

– The creates numerous problems. A large percentage of the brain-drain of intellectuals from the region, from which young people are looking to leave to work in other states, is a direct consequence of this. The lack of economic growth makes it harder for the reforms to take place, because reforms require a redistribution. Also, the gap with the Union prevents the citizens from feeling the benefits of the integration into the single market – he said.

Koopman repeated that the aims of the Western Balkans Growth Plan were brave. The first is to double the scope of the economies of the states of the Western Balkans in ten years, which requires an annual economic growth of 7%, whereas the other goal is the acceleration of European integration, which will then accelerate the economic growth.

The leaders of the Western Balkans Six adopted a joint statement on January 22, in Skopje, at the summit about the Growth Plan, saying that they would dedicate themselves to promoting regional economic integration through a joint regional market, based on EU rules and standards, while at the same time improving its opening toward the single EU market.

The European Commission adopted the Growth Plan last November, and now it is up to the European Parliament and the Council to consider the proposition of this Instrument within the package of medium-term review of the multiannual financial framework of the EU.

The Western Balkans Growth Plan is based on four pillars: the strengthening of the economic integration with the singe EU market, the strengthening of the economic integration within the Western Balkans through a joint regional market, the acceleration of fundamental reforms and the increase of the financial assistance to support the reforms through the Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility.

European Commission

European Parliament

David McAllister

Gert Jan Koopman

Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility