TIRANA, Feb 29 /ATA/ The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Várhelyi stated on Thursday that the European Union’s plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans is an ambitious plan that could potentially double the economies of the six Balkan countries.
At the outset of the Regional Summit on the growth plan, held in Tirana, Albania, the European Commissioner stated that the plan becomes functional only if the six Western Balkan states implement the required reforms and criteria.
“We have full confidence in all Western Balkan countries that you will be able to reap the benefits of this plan, a plan that has the potential to contribute to doubling the economies of the Western Balkans in the next decade”, Várhelyi said at the Regional Summit on the EU growth plan in Tirana, attended by regional leaders.
According to Várhelyi, the plan is part of the enlargement process and implies that alongside the reforms undertaken by aspiring states in the region, the bloc offers them “all the benefits that membership brings before your countries become EU members”.
“We are at the beginnings of a very fundamental, but also very rapid change in the Western Balkans”, Várhelyi stressed.
“If we want the region to move faster, you must achieve results on reforms provided on the plan work. This plan will work if you follow the EU rules. Only if you accept all the rules, you can become part of the single European market before becoming a full-fledged member of the EU”, he added.
In the end, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Várhelyi called on the international financial institutions to speed up the work to realize the financing of this plan.
The EU allocation plan for 2024-2027 is worth 6 billion euros.
The EU’s plan for the Western Balkans aims to boost the region’s economic growth, accelerate necessary reforms, and undertake investments that could advance the EU enlargement process with these countries.//a.i/
