Cooperation and Development Institute

19/03/2026

Montenegro has provisionally closed Chapter 21 on Trans-European Networks in its accession negotiations, marking a significant step in aligning its transport, energy, and digital infrastructure with EU standards. 👏

📌 This milestone reflects a broader regional shift: progress on connectivity is no longer driven by formal EU alignment alone, but increasingly by the capacity of actors to coordinate, exchange expertise, and operationalize their transport and energy standards in practice.

In this context, our initiative acts as an enabling platform whose main objective is to support TEN-T rail network readiness of region and increase region’s footprint in EU policy-making in the transport sector.

Read more: https://cdinstitute.eu/2026/03/19/montenegro-closes-chapter-21/

Interreg IPA South Adriatic
Željeznička infrastruktura CG

Montenegro has provisionally closed Chapter 21 on Trans-European Networks in its EU accession negotiations.

11/03/2026

📌 At the Panel discussion “The EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans – Governance coordination, reform delivery and institutional communication” organized last week by the Regional School of Public Administration, we highlighted three main issues from field experience with the Reform and Growth Facility that deserve attention as the Facility evolves:

🔹 Stakeholders’ engagement is not a box to tick. For performance-based EU instruments to deliver legitimate outcomes, cooperation with civil society must be treated as a core governance requirement - with clear roles, defined responsibilities, and dedicated resources.

🔹 The RGF currently measures progress, not performance. As evidenced by CDI’s , most of reform steps are tracked by outputs - laws adopted, strategies approved, etc., - rather than by the results they produce for citizens and businesses. This gap between activity and impact needs to be addressed, including by strengthening the existing monitoring frameworks so they can detect implementation gaps, communicate reforms and support a mid-term review of the Facility implementation.

🔹 won’t happen without stronger governance and inclusion. Clearer assessment methodologies, greater transparency, and structured stakeholder engagement are preconditions for fund absorption and public trust.

➡️ With potential revisions to the instrument ahead, there is an opportunity to strengthen civil society engagement and improve monitoring and evaluation practices. Getting this right matters not just for the , but also for the next Global Europe Instrument.

🙏 Thank you to Lorela Simoni, Bojana Bajić and Jelena Mrdak for the insightful discussion and Regional School of Public Administration for the opportunity of contribution.

19/02/2026

📌 At the 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦, Mr. Ardian Hackaj, CDI TCF Coordinator, moderated the panel on financing.

💬 Discussions addressed the persistent infrastructure financing gap that continues to impact delivery; the need for strategic coordination among partner countries; potential synergies drawn from blending instruments with national budgets; need to attract more EU-based companies; the role of Italy and Bulgaria in translating political backing into concrete financial engagement and the role of International Financial Institutions in structuring EU and commitments into bankable, multimodal project pipelines.

🔗 Read more: https://cdinstitute.eu/2026/02/19/corridor8-economic-forum/

Ministria për Evropën dhe Punët e Jashtme - Republika e Shqipërisë
Agjencia Shtetërore e Programimit Strategjik dhe Koordinimit të Ndihmës
European Union in Albania
European Investment Bank - Western Balkans
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

18/02/2026

🔴 LIVE | Corridor VIII Economic Forum

CDI TCF Coordinator, Mr. Ardian Hackaj, is moderating the panel on financing. This panel will discuss about the financing gap that infrastructure projects face and the available financial instruments; on the role of and of Member States, 🇮🇹 Italy and 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, in converting their political backing of C8 into concrete financial assistance; and how EIB and EBRD are converting 🇪🇺 EU support and commitment into bankable projects.

📌 Through the initiative, we actively strengthen cross-border coordination of connectivity actors; reinforcing regional rail , and enhancing long-term economic and financial resilience.

Interreg IPA South Adriatic

17/02/2026

We welcome the European Court of Auditors' recommendation to establish a "clear methodology for handling cases of partial fulfilment" in future performance-based instruments, as set out in its latest Opinion on the post-2027 Global Europe Instrument.

With two years remaining in its implementation cycle, we would equally welcome the application of this recommendation to the ongoing performance-based Reform and Growth Facility for the . Moreover, advancing its application contributes to the preparedness of candidate countries for the future financial instruments. ⚙️

📌 Clear and transparent assessment guidance for both partial and full fulfillment - covering qualitative and quantitative steps - is essential to ensure legal certainty, fairness, and credibility in implementation.

📢 Today, the European Court of Auditors issued two opinions on the European Commission's legislative proposals to establish Global Europe (including support for Ukraine) and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (including EU support for health emergency preparedness and response).

13/02/2026

📣Conference conclusions published: Reflecting on Reform Agenda achievements and exploring future opportunities

Read more: https://cdinstitute.eu/2026/02/13/conference-reflecting-on-ra-achievements/

Embassy of Switzerland in Albania

The conference took place within the initiative focused on enhancing stakeholder engagement and ownership in the implementation of RGF.

12/02/2026

📸 Highlights from the conference "Reflecting on Reform Agenda achievements and exploring future opportunities".

Embassy of Switzerland in Albania
European Union in Albania
Ministria e Financave
Kuvendi i Shqipërisë
Ervin Demo
Ministër i Shtetit për Pushtetin Vendor
Milva Ekonomi
Europe in my region
Agjencia Shtetërore e Programimit Strategjik dhe Koordinimit të Ndihmës
Albania Investment Council
EESC - European Economic and Social Committee
Shoqata Kombëtare e Bashkive të Shqipërisë
- Conference of peripheral maritime regions

11/02/2026

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

Representatives of government institutions, Parliament, local authorities, the private sector, civil society from and the , as well as the European Commission and the EESC - European Economic and Social Committee, convened in Tirana for the conference organized by CDI in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland.

📌 Participants assessed progress and bottlenecks in the implementation of the Reform and Growth Facility, its governance and stakeholders engagement framework, considered its impact at local level, and discussed ongoing reforms to align the territorial, institutional, and legal architecture with 🇪🇺 EU membership requirements, with a focus on 🇦🇱 Albania’s preparedness for the 2028–2034 EU budget.

A heartfelt thank you to all distinguished speakers for their valuable insights. 🙏

⏩ Key conclusions and recommendations will follow soon.

Embassy of Switzerland in Albania
European Union in Albania
Ministria e Financave
Kuvendi i Shqipërisë
Ervin Demo
Ministër i Shtetit për Pushtetin Vendor
Milva Ekonomi
Europe in my region
Agjencia Shtetërore e Programimit Strategjik dhe Koordinimit të Ndihmës
Albania Investment Council
EESC - European Economic and Social Committee
Shoqata Kombëtare e Bashkive të Shqipërisë
CPMR - Conference of peripheral maritime regions

06/02/2026

📌 Oversight of the Reform and Growth Facility is about keeping reforms grounded in reality. Our new paper examines how Albania’s accountability actors can track implementation, identify bottlenecks, and ensure that commitments translate into concrete actions.

📑 The analysis by Prof.Dr. Migena Leskoviku points to progress, but also to gaps in transparency and follow-up. It offers practical recommendations to make monitoring more credible and decisions more evidence-based, so the EU reform agenda delivers tangible and verifiable results. ✅

Read it here 👇

Embassy of Switzerland in Albania

This paper examines how Albania’s accountability actors can track RGF implementation, identify bottlenecks, and ensure that commitments translate into concrete actions.

02/02/2026

You think regional integration is boring paperwork? 📑 Think again. Real change happens when citizens understand, debate, and shape it. 🗣️🤝

Over the past years, civil society has played a growing role in monitoring the Common Regional Market, influencing policy dialogue, and translating technical agreements into tangible public knowledge.

⏱️ From real-time monitoring tools to high-level policy engagement, this journey shows one thing clearly: 𝖢𝗂𝗏𝗂𝗅 𝗌𝗈𝖼𝗂𝖾𝗍𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗇𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗇 𝗋𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗆.

📌 Discover the impact journey of our initiative “Channelling SEE6 Civil Society Contribution to the Common Regional Market and Berlin Process”, implemented with the support of Auswärtiges Amt: https://cdinstitute.eu/2026/02/02/an-impact-journey-see6-civil-societys-in-the-crm-and-berlin-process/

Ambasada Gjermane Tiranë

Discover the impact journey of our initiative “Channelling SEE6 Civil Society Contribution to the Common Regional Market and Berlin Process”.

30/01/2026

📍Brussels | We were at the European Commission Conference “Understanding the Impact of the Recovery and Resilience Facility”, that brought together EU policymakers and researchers assessing the economic, governance, and reform impact of the , as well as outlining implications for the new MFF and future 🇪🇺 EU performance-based instruments.

As implementation progresses, in the , insights from the RRF assessment debate are relevant for strengthening reform ownership, transparency, and results in the enlargement context.

📌 CDI will continue to engage with these discussions to support informed policy dialogue, evidence-based reform monitoring, reform impact beyond formal compliance, governance performance as drivers of results, and how learning across different instruments can strengthen WBs know-how driven .