Key facts
- The EU plans to reallocate funding from the Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility.
- Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia are identified as 'frontrunner' countries.
- Countries failing to meet reform deadlines risk losing access to funds.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia are considered to be lagging in reforms.
- The facility aims to financially incentivize Western Balkan countries to implement EU accession reforms.
The European Commission is preparing to reallocate funding from its Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, prioritizing countries that are making significant progress towards EU accession. Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia are identified as 'frontrunners' due to their domestic reform agendas, and are expected to benefit from this redistribution. Conversely, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia are seen as lagging behind in implementing the necessary reforms required by the facility.
The Reform and Growth Facility, established in 2024, aims to provide financial incentives to Western Balkan candidate countries to carry out reforms essential for joining the European Union. The program covers the 2024-2027 period with an ambition to double the size of the region's economies within a decade. However, only a fraction of the available €6 billion has been disbursed, with nearly all of it allocated to the three leading countries.
The facility's rules stipulate that funds can be withheld or reallocated if reform steps are not met within agreed deadlines, including a grace period. With the first deadline having passed at the end of June 2026, the Commission will now conduct an assessment to determine which countries have fulfilled their obligations. EU officials emphasize that the funding is performance-based, and countries are only entitled to it if they deliver the required reforms.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has not yet received any funding due to its complex institutional structure and failure to deliver reforms, is expected to be the most affected by this reallocation. Kosovo and Serbia also face disadvantages. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had previously urged all Western Balkan countries to accelerate their reform efforts to avoid losing out on the available funds.