Today in Brussels, at a joint meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Budgets, the European Parliament debated special funds through which the EU provides money to candidate countries in order to speed up reforms.
Before the Members of the European Parliament were the Reform Agendas, a financial mechanism created within the Growth Plan through which the EU seeks to encourage changes in candidate countries and partners. The main rule of this system is simple: parliamentarians have in front of them a list of reforms that each candidate country has committed to implement, and for each reform carried out, money is allocated.
The discussion with MEPs was led by Gert Jan Koopman, a senior European Commission official responsible for enlargement. The aim of the debate was to see how effective these measures have been and whether countries are making use of the opportunity offered by the EU.
First reforms, then money
The European Commission checks twice a year whether countries have fulfilled the agreed reforms. If they have not, the money is not paid out. The rules allow for a certain delay, but if reforms are not implemented on time, the funds may be lost or redirected to other states.
In order to make use of the total 1.588 billion euros allocated to it, Serbia must implement 98 reform measures in four areas: economic development, green and digital transition, education and employment, and the rule of law.
For 2025, Serbia could theoretically receive 428 million euros, part of which would be non-repayable. Even larger amounts are planned for 2026 and 2027.
Among the basic conditions for using this money are respect for democratic rules and the rule of law. For Serbia there is also an additional condition - constructive participation in the dialogue with Pristina.
The debate in the European Parliament shows that EU enlargement policy is changing. Instead of general promises, clear rules and measurable results are coming to the forefront. The message is simple: the European path no longer depends on announcements, but on concrete reforms that can be verified.
This time Serbia receives half of the money
The example of Serbia shows how this system works in practice. The European Commission has decided to pay Serbia 57 million euros from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. This is about half of the money that had been envisaged for the first period.
The decision was made with a delay of seven months and was officially announced today, 15 January, in the European Parliament.
"The first tranche shows that Serbia has implemented the necessary reforms in several areas. This reflects the fulfilment of half of the obligations. This is a good result, but not perfect. There are still many things that need to be done, but we see progress," Gert Jan Koopman said after the meeting.
The reason for the reduced amount is that Serbia implemented three out of seven planned reform steps on time. The European Commission positively assessed reforms in the field of energy and digitalisation, including measures to improve the security of the 5G network, as well as the alignment of visa policy with the EU through the introduction of visas for four countries.
However, reforms related to media laws, updating the voter register, the election of a new REM Council and several other areas were not completed within the prescribed deadline. Some of these measures were adopted later and will be considered in the next assessment.
Reforms in the region
Albania fulfilled 21 out of 41 reforms and withdrew 44 per cent of the funds. Montenegro implemented 12 out of 25 steps and used 38 per cent of the money, while North Macedonia withdrew about 29 per cent.
Montenegro and North Macedonia received their first payments in July 2025, and Albania in October.
As for the next payment to Montenegro, Koopman said that results of further reforms are currently being assessed, on the basis of which the next disbursement will be determined, which will probably be around June.
The Reform Agenda is part of the Growth Plan
The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is designed as preparation for the countries of the region for EU membership. States are given the opportunity to use European funds earlier, but they must meet precisely defined conditions. These conditions relate to areas such as the rule of law, the functioning of institutions, energy, digitalisation and economic development.
Similar plans also exist for Ukraine, which the EU is helping to maintain the functioning of the state and begin reconstruction, as well as for Moldova, which is rapidly approaching the European Union but faces major economic and security challenges.
(EUpravo zato)