ECA REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DELAYS IN WESTERN BALKANS TRANSPORT NETWORK INTEGRATION
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published a report assessing the EU’s support for transport infrastructure development in the Western Balkans through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). While the report concludes that the funded projects are broadly aligned with the EU’s connectivity priorities, it warns that the region is unlikely to complete the core Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) by the 2030 deadline.
Between 2015 and mid-2025, the European Commission provided €527 million in funding for transport projects under the WBIF. However, the ECA found that limited project maturity, implementation delays and shortcomings in monitoring have slowed progress, with projects starting, on average, 17 months later than planned.
The report also identifies weaknesses in project supervision and raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of several investments. According to the ECA, the Commission has limited tools to ensure timely implementation and has not consistently monitored whether projects comply with EU transport standards or contribute to decarbonisation objectives.
To address these shortcomings, the ECA recommends strengthening project selection by ensuring that preparatory work is completed before funding is approved, improving monitoring and reporting arrangements, and enhancing oversight of project implementation. It also calls for more regular reporting by the financial institutions responsible for supervising EU-funded projects
Source: European Court of Auditors