Euroviews. The EU's new Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans still needs fixing

€700 million — roughly the value of 10 new Swedish Gripen fighter jets — is a lot of money.

That’s the amount the EU spent from 2014 to 2020 on reforms in the Western Balkans, with little to show for it. With a new proposal now under consideration by the European Parliament — for even more funding — we simply can’t afford a repeat. EU taxpayers deserve better.

That’s why I have insisted on strong guarantees for new Western Balkans funding, including the ability to stop or even recoup payments if agreed conditions aren’t being met.

EU enlargement is in principle good for Europe and vital to the continent's long-term peace and prosperity. 

This is why, in November 2023, the European Commission adopted a major enlargement package including recommendations to open EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, to grant candidate status to Georgia and to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina pending certain further steps. 

The EU’s door is and must remain open to new members. This has been my position as shadow rapporteur for the forthcoming enlargement report in the European Parliament, which will help define the EU’s approach to candidate countries for the crucial years to come. 

In a world of such turmoil, and faced with powerful authoritarian actors, we cannot let our continent be divided.

But there is a "but". Even as we ensure an open path ahead — of cooperation, integration and ultimately full EU membership — for our democratic partners in the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, we must equally ensure that all EU rules and standards are fully met.

This includes high standards of good governance and financial accountability. Each of these goals — each of these guarantees to our voters — is fundamental. This