At the recent EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia, the EU again failed to reassure the Western Balkan states which – instead of the hoped-for “enlargement summit” – got only a “connectivity agenda” and controversial and conflicting statemegnts from European officials.
While the Sofia summit failed to produce strong political support for enlargement, it did introduce a new comprehensive financial package, which, through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, will support key projects on connectivity in the region.
The fourth Connectivity Agenda package adds more than 190 million euros in EU grant support to 11 transport infrastructure projects in Western Balkans that are also part of Berlin process.
It includes funding for the first two sections of the Nis-Pristina-Durres “Peace Highway” and the “Blue Highway” along the Adriatic coast.
