News: Bosnia and Herzegovina: Reform program requested by the EU approved

After weeks of political deadlock, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina has finally approved the reform program requested by the European Union, a key condition for accessing the funds of the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

The adoption of the document took place on the last possible day, after previous sessions had failed to reach a quorum, mainly due to opposition from the Republika Srpska.
This delay had already led to the loss of €108 million in July and risked costing the country a further €100 million by the end of September.

The EU Growth Plan provides a total allocation of €6 billion for the six Western Balkan countries — €4 billion in concessional loans and €2 billion in grants — disbursed twice a year based on reform progress.
So far, Serbia has received €110 million, Albania €65 million, and Montenegro €27 million.

Following the approval, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos expressed “great satisfaction,” stressing that Bosnia “has demonstrated the unity it so badly needed” and that the program will make it possible to achieve tangible goals such as “better roads, cheaper energy, faster internet, and zero fees for financial transactions and roaming.”

The document will now be reviewed and formally approved by the European Commission, enabling the release of a new €108 million tranche for Sarajevo.

Photo credit: © European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons