Council of Europe, European Parliament Reach Agreement on Growth Plan for Western Balkans

European Parliament (Photo: European Union 2019/EP/Gabor Kovacs)

The CoE and European Parliament reached on Apr. 4 a Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans which is the centerpiece of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans worth EUR6 billion.

The Growth Plan covers the period from 2024 to 2027 and is expected to secure EUR2 billion in grants and EUR4 billion in favorable loans. “The plan will complement the existing Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) considerably increasing financial assistance to partners in the region," the CoE said.

EP negotiator for the Growth Plan Tonino Picula hailed the agreement. “We stress the importance of rule of law, transparency and reforms so that these countries, our partners, can move closer to the EU,” Picula wrote on X.

On Nov. 8, 2023 the European Commission unveiled the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans along with an annual enlargement package. The goal of the plan is to foster the region’s economic growth and speed up the socioeconomic accession of the Western Balkans and the implementation of reforms en route to the Union.