The European Commission has allocated €51.7 million to Serbia as a soft loan, part of the pre-financing phase outlined in the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, the EU Office in Serbia announced. An additional €59 million in pre-financing, in the form of grants and loans, will be channeled through the Western Balkans Investment Framework to improve infrastructure across the country.
This pre-financing represents 7 percent of the total financial support promised to Serbia under the EU Growth Plan. The decision to disburse the pre-financing came after the Serbian Parliament ratified the instrument agreement and loan agreement within the Reform and Growth Instrument.
Conditions for Future Disbursements and Regional Overview
The EU Office emphasized that Serbia will receive further funds from the Reform and Growth Instrument for the Western Balkans once it fulfills the reform steps agreed upon by the European Commission and the Government of Serbia through the Reform Agenda, and provided that relevant preconditions and general conditions are met.
“The European Commission is currently assessing the implementation of the first set of reform steps related to fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, the business environment and private sector development, as well as green and digital transitions,” the announcement stated.
The overall package of the Growth Plan for the six Western Balkan countries—Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro—amounts to €6 billion and covers the period from 2024 to 2027. Of this sum, €2 billion are non-repayable grants from the EU, with the remainder in the form of favorable loans.
Earlier, the EU disbursed pre-financing of €24.4 million to North Macedonia in March, €30 million to Albania in March, and €12.5 million to Montenegro in May.
Kosovo’s Delay Amidst Political Stalemate
The aim of this ambitious EU financial package is to foster economic growth in the region and, in doing so, accelerate its European integration process.
Kosovo has yet to receive any pre-financing funds as it first needs to ratify the loan agreement in its Parliament. It remains unclear when Kosovo will have a new Parliament, as parliamentary parties have been unable to break the political deadlock four months after the elections were held in February.
According to unofficial estimates, Kosovo could benefit from over €880 million from this package. Over €250 million would be allocated as non-repayable funds, with the remainder in the form of favorable loans. The 7% pre-financing portion for Kosovo would amount to approximately €61 million.
