FLASH
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The 6 billion euro "bag" of the EU is not opened for the Western Balkans if the member states do not complete the reforms, even at a fast pace to meet the set deadlines.
This is what the General Director for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Gert Jan Koopman, stated today.
At the EU-Western Balkans Summit that is being held in Tirana, Koopman underlined that in order to receive 6 billion euros of funds from Brussels, a high pace of reforms is needed.
He said that there is only one month left for the closure of the reforms from the Western Balkans region.
The director of the EU group for neighborhood and enlargement also emphasized that independent institutions should also do their work.
" First, the leaders present today, a few weeks ago in Skopje, this shows the testimony of your commitment and the fast pace that the commissioner spoke about. In order to move forward, this pace must be sustained and led from above, so that implementation is followed. Second, it is not just about the leaders, it is the effort of the whole society. Even independent institutions must do their work for these changes, otherwise we will not succeed. Third, implementation is difficult, not easy.
Difficult for the countries of the region because they have to make some ambitious changes in the legislation to align it with EU standards. Difficult because some of the countries and initiatives must be fully functional like CEFTA. We should also be by your side. The fourth point is that the pace is high but we have only one month left to complete the reform agenda because the legislators must approve the appropriate laws by the end of April. The quality must be high, you have us by your side, but the clock is ticking. In the next four weeks, we need to have such a high product in order for the funds to start coming in in May. ", he said.
Even the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, at the closing conference of the Berlin Summit process in Tirana, took special care to set a red line for the countries of the Western Balkans in terms of how they will absorb investments and benefit from the fund. of 6 billion euros of the European Union.
According to von der Leyen, without the required reforms, the mouth of the EU "bag" will not be opened.
"Funding is important and will bring the Western Balkans closer to membership and will make the Western Balkans more attractive for European investors. The economies of the Western Balkans are as much as 35% of the EU average. The fourth point of the plan is that if the reforms are carried out properly, a package of 6 billion euros of investments, financed by the European Fund, will be attached to them. It has worked well in Europe so far and I believe it will work just as well in the Balkans. If you carry out the reforms and advance, the funds will be released," said von der Leyen to the leaders of the Balkans./ Pamphlet
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