TIRANA, June 11 /ATA/ – The European Union has commended Albania’s progress in implementing reforms linked to EU financial assistance, describing the country as one of the Western Balkans’ best-performing beneficiaries under the bloc’s Growth Plan.
At annual monitoring meetings held in Tirana on June 9-10, representatives of the European Commission and the Albanian government reviewed progress under the Reform and Growth Facility (RGF) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), which support Albania’s path toward EU membership.
Since the launch of the Growth Plan in 2024, Albania has completed 21 of 41 reform steps in the first reporting period and 12 of 21 in the second. Based on that progress, the EU has so far disbursed 213 million euros in three instalments from a total allocation of 922 million euros.
The meetings assessed reforms in five priority areas: the business environment, human capital, energy, digital transformation and infrastructure, and the rule of law.
Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the reform agenda, describing the next reporting round in July as a key test of Albania’s administrative capacity and readiness for EU accession.
Sigrid Brettel, head of unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), welcomed Albania’s performance and encouraged further progress.
“Albania’s performance under the Reform and Growth Facility is good, and we want to support you in making it excellent,” Brettel said, noting that additional EU funding could be made available to the region’s best-performing countries.
The European Commission stressed the importance of maintaining reform momentum to secure future disbursements and advance Albania’s accession process.
Separately, the annual IPA monitoring committee reviewed around 150 EU-funded projects supporting accession-related reforms. Since 2007, the EU has provided more than 1.9 billion euros in grants to Albania, helping mobilise an estimated 4.7 billion euros in investments together with financing from the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
The Commission also welcomed the launch of new projects in areas including anti-corruption, environmental protection, local governance and food safety, and noted the approval of a further 100 million euros under the 2025-2027 IPA programme to support reforms in the rule of law, justice, human rights and good governance.
Participants also highlighted the need to accelerate implementation of major programmes worth around 130 million euros in areas such as digital transformation, energy efficiency and youth employment.
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