Europe Hands Over the Map, But Doesn’t Pull the Sleeve

“You can’t push a rope” — EU representative behind the scenes at the Skopje summit

Skopje, July 1, 2025

A key meeting of Western Balkan leaders and European Commission representatives has begun in the capital of North Macedonia. On the agenda: implementation of the Growth Plan — a €6 billion investment package aimed at supporting reforms in energy, transport, digitalization, and infrastructure.

The initiative is intended to accelerate the region’s economic integration with the EU and bring candidate countries closer to full membership. The summit comes amid ongoing debates about the future of EU enlargement and reflects the political will of both Brussels and Balkan capitals to strengthen the process of European integration — despite internal crises, delays in reforms, and geopolitical pressure.

The initiative includes €6 billion (€2 billion in grants and €4 billion in concessional loans), distributed in exchange for specific reforms and measures agreed upon with the European Commission. According to the Commission’s official statement, the Skopje meeting “confirmed the commitment to swift implementation of the Growth Plan” and focuses on economic convergence between the region and the EU through improved investment environments, logistics connections, and digital infrastructure (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, July 1, 2025).

According to Albania’s public broadcaster RTSH, the meeting is attended by the heads of government of all six countries in the region — Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. The summit is coordinated with the participation of EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Marta Kos, who held a series of bilateral talks with regional leaders on the first day (RTSH, July 1, 2025).

As reported by the Italian agency ANSA, discussions on the sidelines also covered the prospects of regulatory harmonization, the creation of a common regional market, and the reduction of administrative barriers to trade and investment. Brussels emphasizes that the Growth Plan should not only stimulate growth but also serve as a springboard for meeting accession criteria (ANSA, July 1, 2025).

The Growth Plan: Structure and Objectives

Presented by the European Commission in November 2023, the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is a strategic investment package worth €6 billion, aimed at accelerating structural reforms and aligning the six regional countries with the principles of the EU Single Market.

As stated in the Commission’s official communiqué, the objective of the Growth Plan is a “gradual economic merger with the EU,” and the package is built around four interlinked pillars:

1. Integration into the EU Single Market — including the free movement of goods, services, labor, and capital.

2. Development of a regional common market — with an emphasis on standardization, interoperability, and reduction of trade barriers.

3. Acceleration of fundamental reforms — in the areas of justice, anti-corruption, and public administration.

4. Financial support — under the “money for reforms” principle, with pre-defined conditions for fund disbursement (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, June 30, 2025).

At the Skopje press conference, EU Commissioner Marta Kos emphasized that “implementing the Growth Plan is not an abstract goal but a real mechanism for transforming and bringing the region closer to the Union” (EU Reporter, July 1, 2025).

She also added:

“Our task is to ensure that every euro from the package works for the benefit of the citizens. The Growth Plan is a bridge between where the region stands today and where it can be in the near future.”

— (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, June 30, 2025)

The Commission expects that implementing the core elements of the Plan will enable Balkan countries to more quickly fulfill the Copenhagen criteria, while creating the conditions for financial sustainability, growth, and attracting foreign direct investment.

The Growth Plan Summit in Skopje officially concluded on July 1, but the EU and Western Balkan countries agreed to reconvene this fall to maintain political momentum behind the initiative’s implementation.

Among the first results: the adoption of the “green corridors” roadmap, the launch of an €87.7 million energy investment package (with potential to leverage almost €500 million in private capital), and a firm call for regional leaders to speed up reforms.

Commissioner Kos made it clear: the money is just a tool — if reforms stall, the Growth Plan mechanism loses its purpose.

Country Outlooks: Who Is Implementing the Growth Plan — and How

Despite the European Commission’s unified approach, progress among Western Balkan countries in implementing the Growth Plan remains uneven. Brussels has tied access to the investment package to the implementation of specific reforms, and in Skopje, it was made clear that “funding will only be provided if commitments are met” (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, July 1, 2025).

Albania and Montenegro are among the countries that have already received pre-financing. Commissioner Kos at the Skopje meeting highlighted their progress as examples of “rapid advancement in negotiations and in reforming governance structures” (RTSH, July 1, 2025).

North Macedonia has demonstrated political will but faces obstacles in implementing internal institutional changes. Kos stressed the need for “decisive steps in protecting rights and the rule of law” (EU Reporter, July 1, 2025).

Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Kos, has finally “adopted its Reform Agenda,” which opens the door to activating access mechanisms for Growth Plan funds. However, bureaucratic inconsistencies between state and ethnic structures remain a major bottleneck (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, June 30, 2025).

Serbia continues to maintain active negotiating positions but has not received any new tranches under the Growth Plan in 2025 — mainly due to unresolved normalization issues with Kosovo and stalled institutional reforms. While Belgrade is engaged in regional initiatives, its relationship with the Commission remains cautious.

Kosovo faces procedural obstacles. Due to the absence of a fully functioning parliament, it has not completed ratification of the agreements needed to trigger pre-financing. According to the Commission, “institutional deadlock is preventing Kosovo from benefiting from the Growth Plan” (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, July 1, 2025).

Nevertheless, all six countries reaffirmed their readiness to accelerate their Reform Agendas, align national legislation with European standards, and closely cooperate with one another — including by creating a unified digital space, simplifying customs procedures, and modernizing transport corridors.

Progress on EU Accession Negotiations Chapters

Montenegro

• Out of 33 negotiation chapters, 7 had been provisionally closed by the end of June 2025 (including Chapter 5 — Public Procurement, Chapter 7 — Intellectual Property, Chapter 10 — Information Society and Media).

• For the first time, the European Commission officially confirmed that Montenegro has met the interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24, allowing other chapters to begin closing (source: NewUnionPost).

• António Costa, President of the European Council, called Montenegro “one of the strongest examples of positive momentum in EU enlargement” and reaffirmed the goal to conclude negotiations by 2028 (AP).

Albania

• Negotiations began in July 2022. As of May 2025, 24 of 33 chapters had been opened (European Western Balkans).

• Separate clusters were launched starting October 2024 (Cluster 1), followed by December (Cluster 6), April (Cluster 2), and May 2025 (Cluster 3).

• EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas urged in April to maintain reform momentum: “Albania has an ambitious agenda for closing negotiations with the EU in the next two years… It is vital to maintain a high pace of reforms.” (AP)

Serbia

• 22 of 35 chapters have been opened; only 2 have been closed (as of end-2024), with the process slowed by systemic issues (The New Union Post).

• The last cluster opened under the new methodology was Cluster 4 (on the Green Agenda) in 2021. No chapters have been closed since.

• Cluster 3 (Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth) is “technically ready” but blocked due to unresolved normalization with Kosovo and poor progress in media and electoral law reforms.

North Macedonia

• Negotiations formally began in July 2022. Screening of all clusters was completed by December 2023 (Wikipedia).

• However, no chapters have been opened so far due to Bulgaria’s veto on constitutional amendments concerning the Bulgarian minority.

• Prime Minister Mickoski publicly stated: “EU accession should reflect the democratic development of the country and not depend on bilateral disputes.” (AP).

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Received EU candidate status in December 2022, and in March 2024 the European Commission recommended launching negotiations — provided certain conditions were met (Wikipedia, July 2025; Commission recommendation of March 12, 2024; Reuters, March 2024).

• Screening began in spring 2024, but no chapters have yet been opened. Internal political divisions and obstruction by MPs from Republika Srpska continue to block progress (Wikipedia Bosnia page — screening not completed; Reuters, December 2024).

• In June 2025, Bosnia signed a cooperation agreement with the EU on Frontex, aimed at enhancing border cooperation and demonstrating commitment to the EU agenda (Reuters, June 2025).

Kosovo

• Formally applied for EU membership in December 2022, but negotiations have not yet started as Kosovo holds the status of “potential candidate” and is not recognized by five EU member states (Wikipedia, July 2025; Reuters via NewUnionPost, May 2025).

• In June 2023, the Commission imposed “temporary and reversible” measures on Kosovo due to insufficient cooperation with Brussels, leading to the reduction of access to IPA regional programs and the potential loss of over €600 million in projects (NewUnionPost, June 2025).

• EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, during a visit to Pristina, emphasized the link between institutional stability and access to Growth Plan funds: “Functioning institutions are critical for Kosovo to benefit from the EU’s €6 billion Growth Plan and move toward membership.” (Reuters, May 2025).

Regional Dynamics and Challenges on the Path to the EU

Despite the positive rhetoric in Skopje, the summit highlighted both the progress and persistent structural obstacles slowing EU enlargement in the region.

Uneven Dynamics

The gap between countries actively opening chapters (Montenegro, Albania) and those lagging behind or blocked (Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo) is becoming increasingly evident.

Although political rhetoric in favor of integration remains strong, behind the scenes EU representatives and experts admit: the enlargement process in the region is visibly stalling. According to Jacques Rupnik, political scientist and Balkans expert from Sciences Po, “There may be political elites who are in no hurry to accelerate the process of European integration” (Reuters).

Some EU officials, speaking anonymously, echoed this sentiment — highlighting Brussels’ limited leverage in the face of weak political will in certain capitals:

“You can’t push a rope,” said one EU official, meaning that acceleration of the process is impossible without initiative from the candidate countries themselves (Reuters).

“Russia offers no realistic alternative to the EU. While Balkan countries increasingly look to the West, the Kremlin continues to exploit internal divisions and vulnerabilities in the region.”

— Bojana Zorić, analyst at NewUnionPost, a regional research center for the Balkans.

These assessments underscore the structural nature of the obstacles: even with financial incentives like the Growth Plan, without deep internal reforms and a strategic course from the region’s governments, integration remains rhetoric rather than reality.

Political Will Isn’t Universal

While the Skopje summit demonstrated a declared commitment to regional coordination by all six countries, real political will for deep reforms is not present in every capital. Serbia is a prime example: despite having opened negotiation chapters and participating in the Growth Plan, real progress in judicial independence, media freedom, and anti-corruption remains limited.

In addition, attempts to balance relations with both the EU and Russia send mixed signals. In May 2025, President Vučić expressed a desire to “accelerate Serbia’s path toward the EU,” while simultaneously confirming his readiness to maintain bilateral relations with Moscow, including visits and economic agreements (Reuters).

Whereas Montenegro is laying the technical groundwork to complete negotiations by 2026–2027, North Macedonia, more than two years after launching talks, has yet to open a single chapter — mainly due to Bulgaria’s ongoing veto linked to the constitutional recognition of the Bulgarian minority.

Kosovo faces a fundamental constraint: five EU member states (including Spain, Romania, and Slovakia) still do not recognize its independence. This blocks not only the start of accession talks but also participation in key funding mechanisms.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which gained candidate status in 2022, remains internally paralyzed: divisions between ethnic and political structures prevent the adoption of legislation needed to open negotiation chapters. Although the Reform Agenda was finally approved in June 2025, the European Commission has refrained from launching screening until basic conditions are fulfilled (enlargement.ec.europa.eu).

Conclusion and Outlook

The Skopje summit was more than just another high-level meeting — it was a test of political will, both for the Western Balkans and the European Commission itself. The Growth Plan offers a unique opportunity: real funding in exchange for real reforms. But its effectiveness will be measured not by the number of declarations or signed documents, but by the depth of transformation on the ground — in courts, parliaments, municipalities, and tax systems.

EU Commissioner Marta Kos reminded in Skopje: “Europe will not be united without the Western Balkans,” and added that the window of opportunity will not remain open forever (enlargement.ec.europa.eu, June 30, 2025). It sounded like a warning: without accelerating reforms, even billion-euro packages won’t bring the region closer to membership.

And although Montenegro and Albania show steady progress, Serbia — which hasn’t closed a single chapter since 2017 and follows a polarized development path — Bosnia and Herzegovina due to Republika Srpska’s actions that undermine the foundations of the Dayton Agreement, North Macedonia blocked by Bulgaria, and Kosovo facing fundamental legal constraints — all these countries are facing open political and institutional deadlocks that require not just financial support, but internal reset.

For Brussels, the main challenge is to prevent enlargement fatigue from becoming political routine. If the Growth Plan fails to become a bridge to real membership, it risks becoming yet another missed opportunity.