“EU money for Kosovo and Serbia without progress in dialogue”

Unless they achieve progress in negotiations with EU mediation, Kosovo and Serbia will not be able to count on funds from the Western Balkans Growth Plan, which the European Commission approved today.

So have Serbian news agency “beta” sources said.

In the case of the 2023 Enlargement Package presentation, sources from the European Commission (KE) said today that Kosovo and Serbia should take advantage of the opportunity given by “remade” what is expected of them.

“Belgrade should contribute to the reduction of tensions in northern Kosovo, which includes the participation of Serbs in local elections in Serb majority municipalities, but also to the implementation of the agreement from Ohrid, that is, the de facto recognition of Kosovo's “independence, said the sources of “Beta”, broadcast Klanoskova.tv.

“S, along with normalising relations with Pristina, the second key condition for Serbia's progress in European integrations, according to the source, remains its approach to EU foreign and security policy, meaning joining the Union-set sanctions on Russia due to its aggression against Ukraine”.

“Although Serbia technically met the criteria for opening up group 3 in membership negotiations with the EU, to do so, it is necessary to meet two key conditions, approaching EU foreign and security policy and progress in the process of normalising relations with Pristina”, these sources from the EC said further.

The European Commission approved today the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, worth six billion euros, which should contribute to the growth of the region's economies and the acceleration of the EU enlargement process.

The plan includes an increase in EU financial assistance to support reforms in the Western Balkans for the period 2024-2027, two billion euros in grants and four billion euros in loans, respectively, but payments are conditional on implementing some reforms.