Serbia to receive first disbursement from Growth Plan in coming days – EUR 61 million to be allocated, almost half of what was previously planned

The European Commission will approve the first disbursement of funds for Serbia under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans in the coming days, Radio Slobodna Evropa (RSE) has learned from reliable sources in this institution.

Serbia has already received funds in the form of pre-financing from the Growth Plan, and will now receive the first regular payment.

The first disbursement of funds for Serbia will amount to EUR 61 million. As specified by European Commission sources, the first tranche was originally planned to amount to EUR 112 million. However, in order to receive the full amount, Serbia had to fulfill seven reform steps. According to RSE sources, Serbia has so far fully fulfilled three of the seven planned reforms, which is why the European Commission has decided to reduce the amount of the first disbursement. The remaining funds will be disbursed only after Serbia fulfills the other planned reform obligations.

Serbia is, for now, the latest in a series of countries that are considered to have fulfilled the conditions and undertaken significant reforms to align with European Union standards. The first payment from this package was already received in October last year by Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia. For now, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the territory of Kosovo and Metohija are left without funds from this package.

The European Commission approved the Reform Agenda of Bosnia and Herzegovina only in December, and the funds, including pre-financing, can only be disbursed after the relevant agreements enter into force and all conditions are met.

The territory of Kosovo and Metohija, on the other hand, has not yet adopted loan agreements with the European Commission, due to the institutional crisis that marked the entire previous year and the dysfunctionality of the Parliament.

The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans represents the most ambitious financial package of the European Union for the region. The total value of the package is EUR 6 billion, of which EUR 4 billion is in the form of soft loans, while EUR 2 billion is in grants.

The funds will be distributed according to the population and gross domestic product of each country.

According to preliminary plans, Albania is allocated EUR 922.1 million, Bosnia and Herzegovina EUR 1.08 billion, the territory of Kosovo and Metohija EUR 882.6 million, Montenegro EUR 383.5 million, North Macedonia EUR 750.4 million, while Serbia is allocated EUR 1.58 billion.

All projects financed from the Growth Plan must be completed by the end of 2027, and extensions of deadlines will not be possible.

Bosnia and Herzegovina lost EUR 108 million in July last year because it had failed to meet the deadlines for adopting a reform agenda.

In such cases, the lost funds are redistributed to other countries in the region.

Growth Plan for the Western Balkans

first disbursement of funds for Serbia under the Growth Plan