The Growth Plan is the second EU financial instrument in the SEE6 region alongside IPA supporting Albania in its path to EU membership. It brings in additional resources, introduces a performance-based approach structured; and three layers of conditionality based upon and progress indicators. In March 2025, the Parliament of Albania ratified the Loan and Grant Facility Agreements for the Reform and Growth Facility (RGF), marking a key step toward the disbursement of the funding.
With the aim of supporting a Growth Plan Dialogue with societal actors, CDI organized on 18th of March, the informative roundtable “National Reform Agenda: The Role and Expectations of Civil Society”, focusing on the role, contribution, and expectations of societal actors in Albania regarding the monitoring of the implementation of the national Reform Agenda (RA).
The event gathered representatives of civil society and business organizations in an open discussion with the newly appointed RGF National Coordinator, Ms. Eridana Çano, General Director of the State Agency of Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination (SASPAC) and National IPA Coordinator.
During the discussions, the Growth Plan Coordinator outlined the key features and novelties of the Facility compared to IPA. She provided an update on the progress of planned reforms, highlighting the completion of 16 reform steps by December 2024, and emphasized the role of social actors in supporting transparency and societal ownership of Growth Plan reforms. She also underscored the importance of civil society’s involvement throughout the implementation and monitoring of the Reforms and reaffirmed her commitment to fostering inclusive collaboration and information-sharing.
Social actors emphasized the need for timely access to information regarding the implementation of reform steps. They underscored the need for dedicated support to social actors engaged in the execution and monitoring of RGF. This includes targeted financial mechanisms – such as a CSO-dedicated budget line – to bolster CSO participation. In alignment with the RGF framework, it was agreed that social actors will provide potential scenarios for their role in the upcoming Growth Plan Monitoring Committee.
CDI has advised the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the opinion on the Growth Plan and its Reform and Growth Facility. Notably, CDI’s proposals—such as the Scoreboard and the Monitoring Committee—were incorporated into the final Reform and Growth Facility Regulation, drawing on best practices from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The roundtable was organized within the framework of the initiative “Enhancing Stakeholder’s Engagement and Ownership in the implementation of the Reform and Growth Facility,” implemented by CDI in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland to Albania, as part of CDI’s commitment, in fostering dialogue, collaboration, and institutional accountability in the implementation of RGF. By integrating these elements into the Growth Plan, the goal is to strengthen inclusiveness, oversight, accountability, transparency and the efficiency of this new financial instrument, and prepare Albania for the 2030 EU membership target.
