How should Western Balkan countries seize the opportunity of the EU’s new growth plan
At this event we focused on the EU's proposed growth plan for the Western Balkans
Speakers
Matteo Bonomi
Senior Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali
Krisela Hackaj
Executive Director, Cooperation and Development Institute, Albania
Branimir Jovanović
Economist, country expert for North Macedonia and Serbia, wiiw
Bernhard Windisch
Head of Unit - Financing instruments in the EU neighbourhood, European Commission
Agenda
Check-in & coffee
11:30-12:00Agenda
Conversation
12:00-13:00- Chair: Zsolt Darvas, Bruegel Senior fellow
- Matteo Bonomi, Senior Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Krisela Hackaj, Executive Director, Cooperation and Development Institute, Albania
- Branimir Jovanović, Economist, country expert for North Macedonia and Serbia, wiiw
- Bernhard Windisch, Head of Unit - Financing instruments in the EU neighbourhood, European Commission
Agenda
Q&A
13:00-13:15Agenda
Lunch
13:15-13:45European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new growth plan for the Western Balkans at the Tirana Summit in October 2023. The plan includes an accelerated integration of Western Balkans in the EU single market, completing a common regional market of the Western Balkans, and fostering their structural reforms and investments with a new €6 billion fund. How could Western Balkan countries exploit the opportunities offered by this proposal? Will the new fund provide sufficient incentives to realise difficult structural reforms? Will the growth plan accelerate the EU accession process?
This stream of work was funded by the ..