Keres

The Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans has been designed to support internal reforms in the Western Balkan countries, by providing certain benefits of EU membership even before EU accession. The Facility will provide up to €6 billion over the 2024-2027 period. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the agreed text, resulting from interinstitutional negotiations, during its April II 2024 plenary session.

North Macedonia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. The country applied for EU membership in March 2004 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. As part of the June 2018 Prespa Agreement, the country changed its name to the Republic of North Macedonia, in exchange for Greece ending its veto on its EU and NATO accession. The first intergovernmental conference on 19 July 2022 marked the beginning of accession negotiations. The Government of the Republic of North Macedonia ...

Serbia, with a population of 6.9 million, has been advancing towards EU accession since 2012, when it received candidate country status. Despite some progress, Serbia still has three major hurdles to overcome: improving internal political dialogue and reforms, reaching a comprehensive normalisation agreement with Kosovo* and ensuring better alignment with EU foreign policy. Although Serbia voted for Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council, it has not applied any of the EU's sanctions ...

Montenegro began EU accession negotiations in 2012. The European Commission's latest report notes tensions leading to a blocked political system. On 2 April 2023, after securing 59 % of votes in a presidential election run-off, Montenegro's former Economy Minister Jakov Milatović declared victory over the incumbent, Milo Đukanović, who had been president or prime minister for more than three decades. The current pro-European Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, took office in October 2023. Spajić's government ...

Türkiye has long been a strategic European Union partner on migration, security, and trade. However, following the attempted coup in 2016, Türkiye's democratic backsliding led the Council to freeze accession negotiations in 2018. Although relations have thawed, the EU is exploring a more realistic framework for bilateral relations. This 'At a glance' note has been produced at the request of a member of the European Committee of the Regions, in the framework of the cooperation agreement between the ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 3.2 million, became independent from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992, following a referendum that was boycotted by ethnic Serbs. Bosnia and Herzegovina was offered a European Union membership perspective at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Thessaloniki in 2003. Building on the European Commission's recommendation of 12 March 2024, the European Council decided on 21 March to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. This 'At a glance ...

In 2003, at the Thessaloniki Summit, the European Council set out its determination to fully support the EU perspective of the Western Balkan countries. However, in the context of relatively limited progress in implementing reforms needed to align with the EU, none have joined since Croatia's accession in 2013, since when the region has been confronted by 'enlargement fatigue' and increasing Russian and Chinese interference. Responding to these challenges, European Commission President Ursula von ...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt, in Cairo on 17 March 2024, joined by the prime ministers of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece and Italy. This meeting sealed the €7.4 billion EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership (the Partnership) to help boost Egypt's faltering economy and avert another migration crisis in Europe. Critics have raised concerns over the declared urgency of disbursing funds under this partnership without the ...

On 11 July 2023, the Council approved Slovakia's amended national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP, Plán obnovy) and allocated €6 408.5 million in grants for its implementation (Slovakia did not request loans). The allocation is €79.4 million higher than that initially approved (6 July 2021). The difference results from a 2022 update of the maximum financial contribution from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which reflects changes in real gross domestic product (GDP) over time, and the ...

The EU's common foreign and security policy (CFSP) contributes to the Union's objectives of preserving peace, strengthening international security, promoting international cooperation, and developing and consolidating democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The European Parliament's Committee for Foreign Affairs (AFET) adopted its annual report on the implementation of the CFSP on 28 November 2023. The report highlights the need for stronger, more ambitious ...