A new report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA) is being published on the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). This multi-million euro platform is intended to prepare, select and fund strategic investment projects in the Western Balkan countries.
The Western Balkan countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia – are at the heart of EU enlargement policy. The EU supports their transport sectors through the WBIF. More than a decade ago, the European Commission recognised the importance of tackling the under-development of infrastructure in the Western Balkans and of linking the region to the core European transport network. From 2015 to mid-2025, the Commission paid €527 million towards transport projects as the main contributor to the WBIF.
Given the WBIF’s importance in supporting the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, the ECA conducted its audit against the backdrop of the EU’s objective of completing the core European transport network by 2030 and the increased volume of EU funding channelled through the framework. The auditors examined the work of the Commission and of three lead financial institutions: the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Bank. They sampled a dozen transport projects located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The focus of the audit was on the selection of transport projects, the supervision of project implementation, and monitoring and reporting.
However, the report highlights that Western Balkan countries are set to miss the 2030 deadline to complete the core European transport network in the region because of implementation delays and operational difficulties. Progress has been slowed by immature project selection and shortcomings in supervision. Although the audited projects matched the connectivity priorities, the monitoring, reporting and visibility of EU support are insufficient, and delays and sustainability issues persist.
The EU supports their transport, energy and other sectors through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) – a platform for preparing, selecting and funding strategic investment projects. From 2015 to mid-2025, the Commission paid €527 million for transport projects as the main contributor to the WBIF, which is aimed at tackling the under-development of infrastructure in the region and linking it to the core European transport network.
“In terms of EU enlargement, well-developed infrastructure is a step towards meeting the bloc’s accession criteria. The Western Balkans’ transport projects are progressing too slowly to connect the region to the EU this decade,” said Laima Andrikienė, the ECA Member in charge of the report. “The Commission should improve the selection, monitoring and sustainability of projects, and enhance the visibility of EU-funded transport projects in the region.”
The auditors found weaknesses in project selection, particularly regarding their maturity, which added to implementation delays. A project is mature when its preparatory work is completed and up to date. However, projects typically started with a 17-month delay. In addition, many projects faced significant delays of more than two years during implementation.
The Commission has little power to enforce timely implementation, as it lacks effective procedures for monitoring delays, and for ensuring the sustainability and visibility of EU support. For example, it failed to gather information about the degree of completeness of the transport corridors it was funding, or whether transport networks complied with EU standards. It relied on financial institutions to supervise the projects, even though their work was sometimes inadequate. As a result, in certain instances it transferred amounts that exceeded those warranted by the progress projects had made.
The auditors also raise doubts about the sustainability of several projects, for example due a lack of funds to continue with the investments and insufficient maintenance. The WBIF helps to extend the core European transport network. Many projects have been launched, and those checked by the auditors are aligned with the connectivity priorities of the Western Balkans and the EU. But data showz slow progress on achieving all the core European network standards by 2030.
