European Commission Approves Reform Agendas for Five Western Balkan Candidates

Brussels, European commission (Photo: Pixabay)

The European Commission approved the reform agendas on Oct. 23 for five EU membership candidates or potential candidates in the Western Balkans.



After the positive opinions given by the EU member states, reform agendas were approved for Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia, the European Commission has stated. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be excluded from the package until it submits a complete reform agenda.



The statement reads that, with their ambitious reform agendas, the five governments of the Western Balkans commit to the implementation of socio-economic and fundamental reforms that would incite growth and approaching the EU within the Growth Plan for the period from 2024 to 2027.



This step was crucial for enabling transfers in the framework of the EU Reform and Growth Fund amounting to six billion euros, which will be performed after the agreed reform steps have been performed, it was stated. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is starting her Western Balkan tour with a first stop in Albania on Oct. 23, followed by visits to all six candidates/potential candidates for membership, has stated that she was “impressed with the Western Balkan partners’ work on their reform agendas.”