European Union Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, stated that during her meeting with Western Balkan leaders, she emphasized that implementing reforms to benefit from the Growth Plan is entirely in their hands.
The meeting was held in Skopje, with Kosovo being represented by its acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti.
Before the meeting, Kos had reiterated the EU’s expectation for Kosovo’s new government to “finally dedicate more energy to the accession process.” Kosovo currently has an acting government due to the ongoing deadlock in constituting its Assembly.
Benefits and Responsibilities of the Growth Plan
During a press conference following the meeting, Commissioner Kos stressed that Europe needs all Europeans to work together, including the Western Balkan states.
“The Growth Plan brings social benefits to citizens for North Macedonia and other Western Balkan states before accession to the EU, as stated in the joint declaration of the leaders today. This is your responsibility to implement for the benefit of your citizens and businesses, and certainly, the EU will help,” Kos said after the meeting on July 1, 2025.
All Western Balkan countries – with the exception of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina – have already received their first pre-financing funds. Kosovo has yet to ratify the agreement in its Assembly due to the institutional deadlock. The total fund for all countries amounts to 6 billion euros. Kos stated that these funds will be available until the end of 2027.
Key Initiatives and Remaining Challenges for Kosovo
Projects financed by the Western Balkans Investment Framework, Kos noted, will support the construction of railway lines, roads, and wind and solar farms across the region. She highlighted the creation of 11 priority border crossing points with green lanes, aimed at facilitating the movement of goods. Among other initiatives, Kos mentioned that the EU’s Galileo satellite system will be used for real-time truck tracking. She also stated that efforts are underway to identify European supply chains into which Western Balkan companies can integrate.
For the pharmaceutical sector in the Western Balkan states, Kos affirmed that the European Commission will assist them in adapting to EU standards. She highlighted that one of the achieved results by these states is progress towards SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area).
Furthermore, the Commissioner discussed mobile roaming with the leaders, stating that if all countries work on implementing reforms and legislative changes, free roaming for Western Balkan countries could come into effect on January 1, 2026.
For Kosovo to receive its first millions from the EU, totaling 882 million euros by 2027, it must first ratify the agreement in the Kosovo Assembly. The European Commission stated in March 2025 that the first regular payments are expected to be executed between the second and third quarters of 2025, pending Kosovo’s ratification process.
The Growth Plan for Kosovo includes the allocation of 882 million euros for Kosovo until 2027. “The Commission and Kosovo are now finalizing the procedural steps which should allow the release of pre-financing as soon as possible in 2025, pending Kosovo’s ratification process,” the European Commission stated. This EU institution confirmed that Kosovo has requested the release of pre-financing up to 7% of the total amount foreseen in this Package (from the initial indicative financing available for each beneficiary).
According to the Commission, the 6-billion-euro Growth Plan for the Western Balkans provides a roadmap to bring the economies of these countries closer to the European Union through reforms and investments.
In the Kosovo Assembly, the procedure for ratifying international agreements is defined in the Constitution and specific laws. Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo specifies that the Assembly ratifies international agreements on certain matters with a qualified majority (two-thirds of all deputies). Additionally, Law no. 04/L-052 on international agreements details the ratification procedures, including the submission of agreements to the Assembly on its own initiative or upon proposal from the Government. However, in practice, the Assembly has faced difficulties in achieving the necessary quorums for the ratification of some international agreements, leading to their failure in some cases.
