Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) risks losing 100 million euros in favor of other partners from the region if political actors in BiH do not urgently finalize the reform agenda, state the ambassadors of the member countries of the informal group within the Council of the European Union (EU) “Friends of the Western Balkans,” which includes Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia, according to the statement from the Greek embassy in BiH.
“The reform agenda was recently adopted by the decision of the Council of Ministers, which is encouraging. The funds from the EU Growth Plan, which amount to a total of one billion euros for BiH, are intended for improving infrastructure in the country. All citizens will benefit from this strong engagement of the EU,” it is stated in the statement.
Clear message
Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia established in 2023, within the Council of the EU, the informal group Friends of the Western Balkans, whose goal is to support and promote full membership of partners from the Western Balkans, including BiH, in the EU.
“Since 2023, our countries have sent a clear message: the future of BiH is within the Union; the reunification of the European family must be a priority, especially in a time of geopolitical turmoil. Thanks to these messages and our joint commitment, we have positioned ourselves among the leaders in supporting BiH on its path to EU membership. Since then, significant progress has been made in this field. You all know about the most important one: in March 2024, the EU decided to open accession negotiations with BiH. Now it is crucial to maintain that momentum – there is no time to waste. This applies not only to the enlargement process but also to the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. The goal of the Plan is to encourage partners from the Western Balkans to implement key reforms on the path to EU membership and to improve gradual integration within the region and between the region and the EU in areas such as finance, transport, digital connectivity, and the EU single market – benefits that every citizen will feel. All this is also enabled by increased financial aid, which for BiH alone amounts to more than one billion euros,” it is also stated.
In order to receive that money, partners from the Western Balkans must agree on the Reform Agenda with the European Commission, and the idea is simple: more funds to support reforms that will benefit citizens and facilitate integration into the EU.
In the case of BiH, these reforms can cause an unprecedented transformational effect: an improved business environment with greater integration with the EU single market can be a turning point and accelerate the alignment of economic and social indicators of BiH with those in the EU member states. Simply put, more prosperity, more investments, and higher salaries.
All adopted reform agendas except for BiH
So far, all other partners from the Western Balkans have already adopted their reform agendas.
A call was sent to all political leaders in BiH to urgently finalize the adoption of the country’s reform agenda so that BiH can fully seize this unique opportunity.
“The adopted reform agenda opens the possibility for more than one billion euros of investments after the reforms are implemented, and those funds will be available to BiH until the end of 2027. That is why we welcome the unanimous political agreement reached at the session of the Council of Ministers last Friday: this is a major step towards submitting the finalized reform agenda and an excellent sign of progress on the country’s European path, which is demanded and supported by the vast majority of BiH citizens in both entities,” it is emphasized in the statement.
A few days ago, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and the leaders of six Western Balkan partners gathered in Skopje at a successful high-level meeting focused on the Growth Plan. As Commissioner Kos reminded, in just 20 months, the EU and the Western Balkans have gone from ideas to results.
Enlargement and the Growth Plan must remain a priority
In a fragmented world, enlargement – including the Growth Plan – must remain a priority for the EU and its member states, but also for the Western Balkans. Seizing this opportunity is of key importance; only in this way will ordinary citizens and businesses be able to start enjoying some of the benefits of full EU membership even before the formal accession of BiH. Only in this way will BiH, the whole of BiH, be able to keep pace with other partners from the Western Balkans.
“Therefore, we appeal for the finalized reform agenda to be submitted to the European Commission in the coming hours, in order to prevent BiH from losing 100 million euros from its share, which would otherwise be redistributed to other partners in the region. BiH has enormous potential – potential that has not yet been fully utilized. Therefore, we call on all political actors to strive for this joint and non-partisan goal, in the interest of the constituent peoples and all citizens of BiH,” state the ambassadors of the member countries of the Friends of the Western Balkans group, according to the statement from the Greek embassy in BiH.
