site.btaSkopje to Host Meeting of Western Balkan Leaders and Marta Kos on EU Growth Plan

On Monday, Skopje will host a meeting of EU and Western Balkan leaders on efforts to accelerate the implementation of the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which will be attended by the leaders of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

The two-day meeting begins on Monday with a meeting between the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski  and Marta Kos, and the leaders of the Western Balkans will arrive on Tuesday.

The first panel of the meeting on July 1 will be dedicated to the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, while the focus of the second is on concrete mechanisms and support for the implementation of the Growth Plan, and will include ministers from the region, representatives of the European Union, regional organizations and international partners. Issues related to reforms related to the provision of European funding, consumer protection, tourism, and the economic integration of the Western Balkans into the European single market will be addressed.

The Western Balkans Growth Plan, promoted by the EC in October 2023, aims to stimulate economic growth in the region and help countries move closer to the EU. It provides six billion EUR of financial resources for reforms and investments in key areas such as energy, transport and digital transformation, which will be distributed as grants and soft loans and aim to increase prosperity and stability in the Western Balkans.