English
Euronews reports that the European Union plans to redistribute funding from Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo toward Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. The decision is due to the perception that the first three countries are lacking in their reforms, while the latter three are far more advanced.
“Montenegro, Albania and (North) Macedonia are the most advanced in the accession process, thanks to their domestic reform agendas. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia, by contrast, are generally regarded as lagging. The facility requires reforms to be completed within agreed deadlines — miss one, and the Commission can withhold part or the entire funds corresponding to that condition. Beneficiaries have one year to fulfil the conditions before the funds are reallocated, except for the first year when the deadline is extended to two years. That means that the end of June was the first such deadline”, Euronews reports.
The agency cites an spokesperson for the European Commission as sayign that funds are being redistributed between the countries because “as the regulation underlines, where reform steps are not fulfilled and have expired under the grace period, the corresponding funds can be redistributed among other beneficiaries”.
The Reform and Growth Facility put on the table six billion EUR with an ambitious goal to double the economies of the Balkan countrieswithin three years, but so far only about 673 million EUR were distributed. Bosnia has not received any funding yet, and will be left out in the near future. Serbia was also recently told that it can’t expect funding, while Macedonia leads Albania and Montenegro in the received amount.
The Commission will give more details to the six countries later this month, as it assesses their reform work. “Reforms must remain a priority for the beneficiaries, so they make the most of what the Growth Plan offers”, the spokesperson told Euronews.