The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans was adopted by the Commission on 8 November 2023.
The Plan aims to:
integrate the Western Balkan partners into the EU’s single market, advance regional economic cooperation, deepen EU-related reforms increase pre-accession funding in view of accelerating socio-economic convergence of the Western Balkans to the EU.
The Growth Plan incentivises enlargement partners’ preparations for EU membership, by bringing forward some of its benefits ahead of full integration into the EU.
This in turn should significantly accelerate the speed of the enlargement process and the growth of their economies.
Economic convergence is an essential element in getting the Western Balkan partners closer to the EU. The lack of convergence is a major issue for the Western Balkan region; it is currently at around 35% of EU average level.
The Growth Plan has the potential to double the size of the Western Balkan economies within the next decade.
To support this process a new €6 billion financial instrument, the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans was adopted for the period 2024-2027.