Comparing Reform Agendas: Overview of Anti-Corruption Measures Among Western Balkan Countries

This project is financed with the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic. The content of this document represents the views of its authors and in no way represents the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Over the years of a stalled enlargement process and very slow and limited effect of reforms, the EU has become aware of inherent challenges. This led to the introduction of the Reform and Growth Facility (RFG) in 2024 – a new instrument of gradual integration aimed at revitalising the Western Balkans’ (WB) reforms and membership perspective.[1] By allocating EUR 6 billion and explicitly linking access to funding to the fulfilment of reform commitments, the essential goal of the Facility was to incentivise fundamental reforms.[2] As the rule of law reforms lie at the very heart of its RGF, it becomes particularly important to analyse whether Western Balkan governments’ formal commitments under the Reform Agendas translate into practice. Rather than assessing the rule of law agenda in its entirety, this paper singles out anti-corruption, as progress in this area serves as a critical proxy for overall governance and adherence to EU values. By comparatively examining this component of Reform Agendas, the analysis aims to identify emerging trends, existing gaps, and examples of promising practice.[3] The central argument is that variation in early implementation of anti-corruption reforms primarily reflects differences in political will, suggesting that the Facility’s capacity to induce transformative change, while meaningful, may remain inherently constrained.

[1] Official Journal of the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, 2024/1449

[2] Reform and Growth Facility is referred to as “the Facility” or “RGF” throughout the paper.

[3] Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only WB country that has not to date adopted the Reform Agenda in 2024. The document was adopted in October 2025, but it is still awaiting EC verification during writing of this paper. Thus, five other countries are analysed: Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo* (This designation is without prejudice to status and is in line with UNSC Resolution 1244 (1999) and ICJ advisory opinion on unilateral declaration of independence.