WHAT THE EU’S GROWTH PLAN FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS MEANS FOR THE REGION - Join the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center for a discussion on the European Union’s (EU) Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and what it means for EU enlargement in the region.

As the latest flagship EU policy toward the Western Balkans, the Growth Plan represents a potential turning point for the region’s trajectory toward EU membership by incentivizing national Reform Agendas in the Western Balkans Six countries in the form of six billion euros in grants and loans. With these funds, the plan aims to provide the region with tangible benefits of EU membership before full accession by integrating the region into the EU single market and to foster regional cooperation, economic development, political stability, and security in the region amid rising geopolitical tensions facing the transatlantic community.

Against this backdrop, the Europe Center has published a new report on the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans to provide a fresh analysis on the plan and its potential to reinvigorate the enlargement process.

This event is part of the Europe Center’s #BalkansForward Initiative, which promotes the Western Balkans’ political and economic advancement through Euro-Atlantic integration.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 06/27/2025