In recent minutes, Kosovo submits report on implementation of reforms from the Growth Plan

The European Commission has confirmed that Kosovo submitted the report on 15 July, the last day of the deadline, becoming the last partner from the Western Balkans to meet this obligation.

“We can confirm that all five partners have successfully submitted their payment requirements, including Kosovo, which reported for the first time”, European Commission Free Europe spokesman told Radio Europe.

Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains the only country in the region that has failed to deliver the report. According to the European Commission, this happens after authorities in Sarajevo have not yet approved the Reform Agreement and, as a result, have not signed funding and loan agreements.

After the report's accession, the European Commission will start assessing the implementation of reforms from each country and, according to the results achieved, will decide on the allocation of funds.

After the report's accession, the Commission will assess the implementation of relevant reform steps and make a decision on the disbursement of relevant funds”, European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.

The deadline for the fourth period of reporting on implementation of reforms had expired on June 30th, while the European Commission had allowed an additional period until 15 July for the delivery of reports.

On June 30th, the so-called <x0-Greeks”, which had been approved for reforming steps that were originally meant to end in the middle of 2025. Meanwhile, for the long-term reforms in the late 1920s and 2025s, corresponding periods of tolerance will end later this year.

As for financial benefits, Albania, Northern Macedonia and Montenegro have so far received three regular payments from the Growth Plan, while Serbia has earned only one payment.

Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina have yet to receive any regular payments. So far, Kosovo has only benefited in pre-finance of over 61m euros, representing seven percent of the total amount of 882.6m euros earmarked for the country.

The European Union's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans has a budget of 6 billion euros for the period 2024%2027, of which 2 billion euros are grants, and 4 billion euros in loans under favourable conditions.

The funds are allocated according to the number of residents and gross per capita domestic production. According to these criteria, Serbia has earmarked 1.58 billion euros, Bosnia and Herzegovina 976.6m euros, Albania 922.1m euros, Kosovo 882.6m euros, North Macedonia 750.4m euros, and Montenegro 383.5m euros.

European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had warned earlier that Western Balkan countries risk losing about 700m euros if they fail to implement reforms within the set deadlines. Under the Development Plan rules, funds that are not exploited due to failure to implement reforms return to the European Union budget.