The European Parliament initiated on Tuesday the procedure to approve the European Commission’s proposal for the growth and reform plan for the Western Balkans, which offers a total of 6 billion euros in additional financial aid.
For this plan to be formalized, interinstitutional agreement within the European Union is necessary, which also requires approval from the European Parliament. The Parliament is under pressure to approve this decision as soon as possible because it will hold its final plenary session in April with this composition, before the new elections in June.
On Tuesday, a legislative proposal for the regulation on the establishment of the plan for reforms and economic growth was also presented. This was discussed on the same day during a joint meeting of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Budget committees.
In addition to the conditions proposed earlier by the Commission, the European Parliament has also requested additional measures to condition the use of funds from this plan to better ensure the protection of EU interests.
Among the key conditions for the use of these funds are the rule of law, respect for human rights, and respect for fundamental democratic values.
The European Parliament has demanded that, among other things, the use of funds be conditioned on support for EU positions in Foreign and Security Policy, including sanctions against Russia.
“Another prerequisite will be alignment with the Union’s common foreign and security policy, including the adoption of restrictive measures against Russia, as well as with the EU’s visa requirements for third countries,” according to the amendment proposed by the European Parliament as an additional condition for the use of these funds.
This proposed change may primarily affect Serbia, as it is the only country in the Western Balkans region that has not supported EU sanctions against Russia. However, for this to be included in the conditions, it must also be accepted by the EU Council, where the bloc’s member states decide.
Kosovo and Serbia will specifically be asked to engage constructively in normalizing relations.
“A precondition will be for Serbia and Kosovo to engage constructively in the normalization of relations between them with the aim of fully implementing the respective obligations arising from the Agreement on the Path to Normalization and the Implementation Annex, as well as all agreements from the past in the dialogue and to engage in negotiations for a comprehensive agreement on the normalization of relations,” the proposal states.
The European Parliament has proposed that there be added clarification that is required to be “a clear and measurable outcome and concrete results”.
According to this plan, the Western Balkans region has access to an additional 6 billion euros for economic growth and reforms in the EU. These funds will have additional conditions and will be used only if they are respected.
Out of this amount, 2 billion will be in the form of non-repayable grants for beneficiaries, while 4 billion will be favorable loans guaranteed by the EU.
According to the European Commission’s proposal, half of the funds from the growth plan in the Western Balkans region will go within the framework for investments, as existing funds available are not considered sufficient to attract necessary investments. The other part will go directly to the budgets of the countries to finance some of the necessary reforms.
The European Commission believes that this plan will significantly change the Western Balkans and will be a generator for considerable economic growth, thus also aiding the progress of these countries towards integration into the EU.
The European Parliament seeks to make it clear that the pre-accession instruments (IPA) remain the main tools to assist the Western Balkan countries and that the funds from the plan for economic growth and reforms are only additional and not a replacement for these instruments.
