COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Support to the Western Balkans in tackling COVID-19 and the post-pandemic recovery Commission contribution ahead of the EU-Western Balkans leaders meeting on 6 May 2020
Date: 2020-04-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
Subjects: EU investment, Western Balkans, economic recovery, economic reform, emergency aid, epidemic, financial aid, infectious disease, pre-accession aid, regional cooperation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.4.2020  COM(2020) 315 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Support to the Western Balkans in tackling COVID-19 and the post-pandemic recovery      Commission contribution ahead of the EU-Western Balkans leaders meeting on 6 May 2020  
 
 
Support to the Western Balkans in tackling COVID-19 and the post-pandemic recovery  

Commission Communication on  

I. 

Introduction  

The  Western  Balkans  are  an  integral  part  of  Europe  and  a  geostrategic  priority  for  the 
European  Union.  The  European  perspective  of  the  entire  region  was  confirmed  again  in 
March  2020,  when  the  Member  States  endorsed  the  Commission‘s  proposals  for  a 
strengthened  methodology1  for  the  accession  process  and  decided  to  open  accession 
negotiations with the Republic of Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia. It is of 
key  importance  to  the  European  Union  to  continue  fostering  the  stability  and  prosperity  of 
this region, and build on our shared strategic interests.  

Despite  the  determined  measures  Western  Balkans  partners  have  taken  themselves,  the 
COVID-19  pandemic,  in  addition  to  its  immediate  human  impact,  is  having  a  disruptive 
effect on the economies of the region and on people’s lives. It represents an unprecedented 
burden  on  their  health  and  social  protection  systems.  Thousands  of  citizens  are  at  risk  of 
losing  their  jobs,  and  temporary  government  support  measures  (unemployment  benefits, 
deferrals/waivers  to  tax  and  social  security  contributions,  etc.)  have  an  important  fiscal 
impact. Governments also have to rapidly expand the coverage of social protection systems. 
The pandemic has also affected the common efforts related to migration.  

While the EU itself is heavily affected by the pandemic, it has a particular responsibility and 
interest to lead the global response and provide assistance to partners in need, all the more 
in  its  immediate  neighborhood.  As  part  of  its  international  efforts,  the  EU  is  providing 
essential and unparalleled support to the Western Balkans. The EU is securing financial 
support  of  more  than  EUR  3.3  billion  for  countries  in  the  region  to  address  the  immediate 
health crisis and resulting humanitarian needs, as well as longer term and structural impact on 
their  societies  and  economies.  Given  their  European  perspective,  it  is  also  treating  the 
Western  Balkans  as  privileged  partners  by  granting  them  access  to  many  initiatives  and 
instruments reserved for EU Member States.  

EU  leaders  and  those  of  the  region  will  gather  on  6  May  2020  to  reflect  on  the  challenges 
they  are  facing  together.  To  feed  into  these  discussions,  this  Communication  sets  out  the 
solidarity of the European Union with the Western Balkans as they address the immediate 
impact of COVID-19, and lays out the areas of mutual cooperation. It looks ahead to longer 
term  support  by  the  EU  for  economic  recovery,  setting  the  scene  for  a  more  detailed 
economic  and  investment  plan  for  the  region  to  be  presented  by  the Commission  later 
this year. It also looks ahead to further intensified EU engagement and support to realise the 
European perspective of the region by supporting all the partners in addressing the required 
fundamental democratic, rule of law and economic reforms with even greater vigour, as 
foreseen in the strengthened methodology.  

1 Commission Communication “Enhancing the accession process - A credible EU perspective for the Western 
Balkans” COM(2020) 57 final 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
II.  EU support to the Western Balkans in tackling COVID-19  

In its response to the crisis, the EU decided to provide substantial financial support but also to 
include,  to  the  greatest  possible  extent,  the  Western  Balkans  in  its  own  response.  While 
support has also been extended by other partners to the region, flexible procedures and timely 
decisions resulted in the EU being once again the region’s most effective and reliable partner. 

The EU has mobilised a package of over EUR 3.3 billion to the benefit of Western Balkans 
citizens2. This includes reallocations from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance3 of 
EUR 38 million of immediate support for the health sector, in particular through delivering 
essential supplies to save lives such as personal protective equipment, tests and ventilators4, 
EUR 389 million  to  address  social and economic recovery needs and a  further  EUR 455 
million  economic  reactivation  package  for  the  region  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
International  Financial  Institutions,  as  well  as  a proposal5  for  EUR  750 million  of  Macro-
Financial  Assistance  and  a  EUR  1.7  billion  package  of  assistance  from  the  European 
Investment  Bank.  The  EU  is  also  providing  immediate  humanitarian  assistance  to 
vulnerable refugees and migrants amounting  to EUR 4.5 million for protection, support 
to  unaccompanied  minors  and  health  care,  including  COVID-19  preparedness  and  EUR  8 
million of emergency support to migrants and refugees stranded in the Western Balkans from 
the  Instrument  contributing  to  Stability  and  Peace.  Furthermore,  the  EU’s  Solidarity 
Fund,  open  to  those  countries  of  the  Western  Balkans  that  have  started  to  negotiate  their 
accession, now also covers public health crises. 

An  important  part  of  the  EU’s  economic  support  will  help  the private  sector  address  the 
liquidity  and  financial  challenges  by  mobilising  EU-funded  guarantee  schemes,  in 
cooperation with International Financial Institutions.  
The  EU’s  response  follows  a  ‘Team  Europe’  approach6:  our  quick  and  targeted  support 
combines  resources  from  the  EU  institutions,  Member  States  and  financial  institutions,  in 
particular  the  European  Investment  Bank  and  the  European  Bank  for  Reconstruction  and 
Development. Together with our partners, we are making sure that the substantial EU funding 
already  allocated  to  them  is  targeted  to  help  them  address  the  impact  of  the  pandemic.  In 
parallel,  some  EU  Member  States  are  also  providing  bilateral  support,  whether  financial  or 
donations of supplies. 

As a result of COVID-19 outbreak, the Western Balkans have also activated the Union Civil 
Protection  Mechanism  (UCPM)  and  have  already  started  to  receive  assistance  from  the 
UCPM Member States and Participating States. Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro 
as  participating  States  in  the  Mechanism,  are  able  to  contribute  and  request  support  of 
rescEU, including stockpiling of medical countermeasures and equipment. Stranded citizens 
from the Western Balkans have been among persons repatriated to Europe thanks to flights 

2 Funding allocated within the existing Multi-annual Indicative Program 2014-2020 
3 Existing IPA support programs are also being adapted and accelerated e.g. EU pre-accession assistance for 
rural development (IPARD) and for EU-Western Balkans cross-border cooperation (REGIO). 
4 The EU is funding the delivery of some 95.000 COVID tests, 500 hospital beds, 450 ventilators, 100 intensive 
care  monitors, 100 containers for triage, 10 ambulances, as well as more than 4.5 million pieces of protective 
equipment as well as hundreds of medical devices (such as x-rays, ECGs, CT scanners, defibrillators, infusion 
pumps) and thousands of supplies (such as thermometers,  catheters, tubes, syringes,  masks). The EU has also 
covered the cost of 16 long-haul flights carrying 750 tons of medical supplies purchased from other sources.  
5 2020/0065 (COD) Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on providing Macro-
Financial  Assistance  to  enlargement  and  neighborhood  partners  in  the  context  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic 
crisis. 22 April 2020. 
6 Communication on the Global EU response to COVID-19 (JOIN(2020)11 final) of 8.4.2020 

2 

 
                                                           
organised and co-financed by the UCPM. Civil protection authorities of the Western Balkans 
will  continue  to  participate  in  UCPM  training,  exercises  and  exchange  of  experts.  The  EU 
also  appreciates  the  valuable  support  the  Western  Balkans  have  given  to  the  EU  and  to 
their  immediate  neighbors,  in  terms  of  medical  personnel  and  equipment.  This  reflects  the 
solidarity and fundamental values the EU is built on.  

The ongoing pandemic thus clearly demonstrates how the EU and the Western Balkans are 
tackling  common  challenges  together.  This  includes  joint  procurement  of  medical 
equipment, exempting the region from the EU’s export authorisation scheme for personal 
protective  equipment7  and  the  supply  by  the  EU  of  testing  material  developed  by  the 
European  Commission’s  Joint  Research  Centre  to  ensure  the  correct  functioning  of 
coronavirus tests in the Western Balkans. Stakeholders across the region are fully integrated 
in  European  COVID-19  research  and  innovation  efforts.  The  whole  region  is  also 
benefitting from technical assistance and information exchange facilitated by the  European 
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, while the candidate countries in the Western 
Balkans have been invited as observers to the EU Health Security Committee and are given 
access to the related Early Warning and Response System. 

The  joint  proposal  of  the  Permanent  Secretariat  of  the  Transport  Community  and  CEFTA 
secured that the concept of “green lanes” has been extended to the Western Balkans ensuring 
the fast flow of essential goods within the region. The Commission is ready to associate the 
region  closely  with  the  implementation  of  its  “Joint  European  Roadmap  towards  lifting 
COVID-19  containment  measures”.  Beyond  this  sanitary  emergency  and  its  related 
restrictions on the movement of goods and passengers, the Commission is also committed in 
the  long-term  to  contribute  to  better  connectivity  to  the  Western  Balkans,  addressing  the 
structural  bottlenecks  at  EU/Western  Balkans  borders.
  The  Commission  has  also  issued 
Guidance8 on how to implement the introduction of temporary travel restrictions applying 
to  all  non-essential  travel  from  third  countries  to  the  EU,  including  on  dealing  with  those 
compelled to stay in the EU longer than they are authorised. 

This EU-Western Balkans cooperation and support from the EU goes far beyond what any 
other  partner  has  provided  to  the  region  reflecting  the  region’s  strategic  anchoring.  EU 
Institutions  have  engaged  in  intensive  communication  campaigns,  covering  the  delivery  of 
EU  assistance,  as  well  as  publishing  joint  op-eds  with  EU  Member  States  on  the  ground, 
supporting  “stay  at  home”  campaigns  and  contributing  to  the  dissemination  of  factual 
information  on COVID-19.  In this regard,  attempts to misrepresent  the origins of  the  crisis 
and  the  efforts  to  tackle  it  must  be  countered  publicly  and  strongly,  while  stepping  up 
cooperation to uphold freedom of expression and media freedom. 

III.  Beyond COVID-19 – an Economic and Investment Plan for recovery  

The Western Balkans will require continued support to address the impact of the COVID-
19 crisis. Once the immediate measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic are eased, a new 
phase of close cooperation will begin in order to tackle the hard socio-economic impact of the 
crisis. The European Commission will come forward later this  year with an  Economic and 
Investment Plan for the region.  

7  Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2020/568  of  23  April  2020  making  the  exportation  of  certain 
products subject to the production of an export authorisation (OJ L129, 24.4.20) 
8 C(2020) 2050 final. 

3 

 
 
                                                           
The plan will include a substantial investment package for the region. For the 2021-2027 
period,  the  Commission  proposed  on  2  May  2018  a  total  envelope  for  the  Pre-Accession 
Instrument  III  of  EUR  14.5  billion,  of  which  the  lion’s  share  is  destined  for  the  Western 
Balkans.  The  Commission  foresees  a  doubling  in  the  provision  of  grants  through  the 
Western Balkans Investment Framework to support private sector development, connectivity, 
digitalisation,  green  agenda  and  social  investments.  It  also  foresees  substantially  increasing 
the financial guarantees to support public and private investment in the region through 
the  Western  Balkans  Investment 
the  dedicated  Guarantee  Instrument  under 
Framework.  

The Green transition and the Digital transformation will play a central role in relaunching 
and  modernising  the  economies  of  the  Western  Balkans.  Investing  in  clean  and  digital 
technologies  and  capacities,  together  with  a  circular  economy,  will  help  create  jobs  and 
growth. Support will also be provided to improve the competitiveness of the economies of 
the Western  Balkans, to  better  connect them within the region and with the  EU, and to 
help  make  the  Western  Balkans  fit  for  the  digital  age.  Support  will  be  provided  for  an 
economy that works for people, including through cooperation on education and health, not 
least  to  build  resilience  of  health  systems,  on  social  protection  and  inclusion,  equal 
opportunities, access to the labour market, especially through an increased provision of active 
labour  market  policies,  fair  working  conditions  inter  alia  through  support  to  the 
strengthening of social dialogue, culture, and research and innovation. 

A  strong  focus  will  be  put  on  the  transport  and  energy  links,  which  are  crucial  for  the 
economic development of the region and the EU alike. This year, the EU intends to propose a 
package of EUR 135 million9 to fund six additional infrastructure investment projects under 
the connectivity agenda for the Western Balkans. With this funding, the EU will exceed the 
pledge it made in 2015 to provide EUR 1 billion in EU grants to the connectivity agenda 
by 2020 which will in turn leverage almost EUR 4 billion for 45 infrastructure investments 
connecting the region to the Trans-European Networks (TEN-T) priority axes and in Projects 
of the Energy Community of Mutual Interest. The active regional cooperation in the context 
of the Energy Community and the Central South-East Europe Energy Connectivity initiative 
is a good basis to accelerate investment in these energy connections as well as in renewable 
energy and energy efficiency projects. 

The EU will continue to pay particular attention to the challenges faced by young people, 
especially  regarding  job  prospects,  inequality  and  retaining  young  talent  in  the  region  to 
tackle the brain drain and other demographic challenges facing the region. Funding from 
Erasmus+  for  the  region  has  been  doubled  since  2018  (to  over  EUR  65  million),  along 
with increased emphasis on vocational education. Focus on digitals skills, as well as research 
and  entrepreneurial  skills,  will  be  further  strengthened  in  the  future  with  a  view  to  equip 
young people to become economically successful and thrive in the digital age.  

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  drawn  into  sharp  relief  the  importance  of  the  proper 
functioning of the EU’s single market as a key component of our prosperity and resilience. 
Equally, it has underlined the high level of socio-economic inter-dependence between the EU 
and the Western Balkans economies, and within the region itself. It will therefore be crucial 
to  connect  the  economies  of  the  Western  Balkans  more  effectively  -  within  the  region 
and with the EU. This requires a stronger commitment from all Western Balkans partners to 

9  In  addition,  EUR  65  million  will  be  provided  to  support  project  preparation  and  implementation  under  the 
Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).This will bring the 2020 Connectivity Package funded by the 
EU to EUR 200 million. 

4 

 
                                                           
deepening  inclusive  regional  economic  integration  and  developing  a  common  regional 
market,  as  agreed,  on  the  basis  of  the  EU  acquis,  and  respecting  EU  commitments  which 
will also make the region a more attractive investment area.  

The regional organisations - the Regional Cooperation Council, the Transport Community, 
the Energy Community and the Central European Free Trade Area - are instrumental in this 
regard. EU funded projects have also played a key role in reducing obstacles to trade.10 

All these support measures have the same objectives: to transform the Western Balkans into 
functioning  market  economies  able  to  integrate  fully  into  the  EU’s  single  market,  to 
improve  the  business  and  investment  climate,  thus  contributing  to  increased  trade  flows 
within the region and with the EU11, to create jobs and opportunities, thus reducing the brain 
drain from the region. The current crisis must thus not deflect attention from key structural 
weaknesses,  such  as  high  unemployment  (in  particular  among  youth),  low  labour  market 
participation (in particular for women); a mismatch between skills and labour market needs; 
insufficient  social  protection;  low  agricultural  productivity  and  competitiveness  and 
undiversified  energy  supply  and  low energy efficiency. The  well-established  Economic and 
Financial  Dialogue,  based  on  the  partners’  Economic  Reform  Programs,  remains  an 
important framework for guiding and supporting macroeconomic and structural reforms.    

The aim of the Economic and Investment Plan will be to spur the long-term recovery, boost 
economic  growth  and  support  reforms  required  to  move  forward  on  the  EU  path.  This 
Economic and Investment Plan will be inspired by and aligned with the priorities set by the 
European Commission for its own work in the period 2019-2024.  

IV.  Tackling  fundamental reforms  

The  recovery  from  the  current  crisis  will  only  work  effectively  if  the  countries  keep 
delivering  on  their  reform  commitments  and  produce 
their 
implementation. This is key to realising their European perspective. In addition to continued 
economic  reforms,  this  requires  a  stronger  focus  on  the  rule  of  law,  the  functioning  of 
democratic institutions and public administration.  

tangible  results 

in 

Strengthening  the  rule  of  law  in  all  its  aspects  is  crucial.  It  requires  an  independent  and 
efficient  judiciary,  robust  results  in  the  fight  against  corruption,  organised  crime  and 
terrorism, and effective protection of fundamental rights including freedom of expression and 
of  the  media.  More  specifically,  it  is  of  utmost  importance  that  emergency  measures  taken 
during  the  crisis  are  not  at  the  expense  of  fundamental  principles  and  values  and  that  such 
measures remain proportionate, time-bound and subject to democratic oversight.  

Building on the extensive cooperation that already exists, it is essential to ensure continued 
active engagement through joint and mutually agreed actions on security, including against 
money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and on migration and border management. 
Stronger  democratic  institutions  and  more  inclusive  democratic  processes  remain  key 
priorities. Public administration reform is essential for improving governance at all levels. 
This includes increased transparency and accountability, sound public financial management 

10  For  example,  the  System  for  Exchange  of  Excise  Data  was  upgraded  to  ensure  an  early  electronic 
identification of trucks carrying essential goods, communicated to the border crossing points to allow the trucks 
to cross the border through the green lanes). 
11 In this respect, the Commission proposed on 3 April to extend the Autonomous Trade Measures granted by 
the EU to Western Balkans countries  for another period of 5 years until the end of 2025 (COM(2020) 135 final  
2020/0051 (COD)  

5 

 
 
                                                           
and  more  professional  administrations.  Taken  together,  the  above  form  the  bedrock  for  a 
sustained economic recovery. 

The  Commission  remains  firmly  committed  to  supporting  the  region  in  addressing  these 
reforms. Further measures will be set out in a Commission Communication later this year.   

The COVID-19 crisis is a test for our solidarity and resolve, but also a strong demonstration 
of  us  working  closer  together  as  Europeans  with  a  common  destiny.  In  this  regard,  we 
acknowledge  that  the  partners  of  the  Western  Balkans  will  need  to  find  their  place  in  our 
forthcoming  reflection  on  the  future  of  Europe.  Together  we  will  overcome  this  crisis  and 
recover.  And  together  we  will  further  strengthen  our  cooperation  to  help  our  partners  meet 
the requirements of EU membership. 

** 

6