The rationale of the EU Growth Plan
On 28 August 2025, the European Commission published the implementing decision approving the release of the first tranche of funds to North Macedonia as part of the so-called Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos welcomed the progress achieved by Skopje along the country’s European path, particularly highlighting its commitment to advance the reforms intended in the EU Growth Plan.
Adopted by the Commission in November 2023, the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is a tool created to facilitate and accelerate the region’s socio-economic convergence with the EU by already delivering some of the benefits of European integration. Covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, it therefore acts as a bridge between the pre-accession phase and full EU membership through the gradual integration of the Balkan partners into the European single market and their regulatory alignment.
The most innovative element and, at the same time, the real heart of the plan is the pre-accession financial assistance provided by the Reform and Growth Facility (RGF), a massive financial package of €6 billion combining grants and soft loans for the period of 2024-2027.
Faster Funds, Faster Impact
Among the instruments deployed by the EU to support candidate countries on their way to European integration, the RGF represents a substantial change from traditional financial mechanisms such as the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III). Although both share conditionality as operational rationale, the two instruments differ mainly in terms of how resources are released and the timing of their impact. 
IPA III, operating for the period 2021-2027, is a tool designed for a gradual accompaniment: resources are planned on a multiannual basis and deployed through calls for proposals, projects, and thematic programmes. This means that the effective use of funds by the governments is subject to complex planning, evaluation, and approval procedures, followed by an implementation phase. As a result, the effects of financial measures tend to materialise, especially in the medium-long term.
By contrast, the RGF operates according to a more straightforward scheme, favouring direct payments to the state budget and subsidised loans released in periodic tranches. Each tranche is conditional upon verification of the progress achieved in implementing the National Reform Agenda. The Reform Agenda is a policy roadmap that each Balkan partner agrees upon with Brussels by defining concrete objectives and deadlines in key sectors of the acquis communautaire.
In short, the Reform Agendas embody a reciprocal arrangement between the EU and the Western Balkan partners: governments commit to implementing the agreed reforms, while Brussels releases funds in exchange. This mechanism therefore halves the waiting time to access funds, making the benefits of the RGF tangible already in the short term.
Skopje’s Reform Agenda
On 30 August 2025, the Commission approved the first regular release of €7,918,701.90 to North Macedonia, making it the first candidate country – alongside Montenegro – to concretely profit from RGF funds.
The disbursement came after a positive evaluation of the country’s progress in implementing its 2024-2027 National Reform Agenda. According to the Commission’s assessment, two of the five measures scheduled in the Reform Agenda have been fully implemented: the adoption of the Public Internal Financial Controls (PIFC) Law and the reform of State-Owned Enterprises governance, amounting to approximately 40% of the overall commitments.
Although the other three measures – implementation of the Organic Budget Law, implementation of Climate and Energy Policies and Measures, and improvement of judicial integrity – have not yet been considered fulfilled, Brussels has granted the North Macedonian government an extension until December 2026 to complete the reforms and unlock the remaining 50% of funds.
Skopje has proved to be willing to comply with the European roadmap and press the accelerator. As stated by Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski, North Macedonia “is ready to complete the remaining reforms to clearly demonstrate the strategic direction in which the country is moving.”
North Macedonia as a Test Case
North Macedonia, a candidate for EU membership since 2005, is thus playing a leading role in testing the Growth Plan. For Skopje, this means bridging the gap with the EU while coming out of the shadow of a negotiation process partially blocked due to the bilateral dispute with the Republic of Bulgaria.
For Brussels, North Macedonia becomes a test case for the Union’s ability to translate the European perspective of the entire Western Balkans region into concrete results, restoring credibility to an enlargement process sometimes perceived as stagnant.
In Mucunski’s words: “In a world of wars, security threats, and economic shocks, the European Union and the Western Balkans need each other more than ever. Our stability is European stability. Our progress is European progress.”
