The European Parliament has initiated on this Tuesday the procedure for the approval of the European Commission’s proposal for the growth and reform plan for the Western Balkans.

According to this plan, the Western Balkans region has an additional €6 billion available for economic growth and EU reforms. These funds will come with added conditionality and will only be used if they are respected. Of this amount, €2 billion will be in the form of non-repayable grants to beneficiaries, while €4 billion will be favorable loans guaranteed by the EU.

The European Commission believes that this plan will significantly transform the Balkans and will be a generator for considerable economic growth, thus also aiding the progress of states towards integration into the EU. To formalize this plan, inter-institutional agreement within the European Union (EU) is necessary, which also requires approval from the European Parliament.

The Parliament is under pressure to approve this decision as quickly as possible because it will hold its final plenary session with this composition in April, before the new European Parliament elections in June.

/k.s/