Brussels, 15 October 2024 (MIA) — Following the EU Council's approval of the reform agendas of the EU candidate countries from the Western Balkans last week, they should start receiving funds from the Growth Plan for the region as soon as this month, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said Tuesday, MIA's Brussels correspondent reports.

"Now the clock is ticking for the candidate countries to start implementing the reforms so we can make progress in further payments of funds," Várhelyi told a press conference held with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó following the second EU-Albania intergovernmental conference that formally kicked off the country's accession negotiations by clusters.

Várhelyi reiterated that the European Commission's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans aimed to support investments in infrastructure and help regional countries implement reforms necessary for EU membership.

The financial assistance to support the reforms amounts to EUR 6 billion, with payment conditioned on the Western Balkans’ states fulfilling specific socio-economic and fundamental reforms.

According to the EU's Enlargement Commissioner, the plan would help the region speed up the reform process, "leaving no room for excuses" on the way to the EU. mr/