Western Balkan countries are unlikely to complete their sections of the European Union's core transport network by the bloc's 2030 target date because of persistent project delays, weak oversight and concerns over long-term sustainability, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said on June 9.

The report examined EU-backed transport investments across Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, which are all involved in the EU's enlargement process. Between 2015 and mid-2025, the European Commission contributed €527mn to transport projects through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).

The auditors said that while the projects generally reflected EU and regional connectivity priorities, implementation has lagged because schemes were often approved before they were fully prepared and because monitoring arrangements were inadequate.

"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 responsible for 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," she added.

According to the report, projects typically started 17 months later than planned, while many experienced implementation delays exceeding two years. Auditors also found that the European Commission had limited tools to enforce timely delivery and relied heavily on international financial institutions to supervise projects.

The report highlighted several examples of operational shortcomings. In one case, the condition of a railway line had deteriorated by the time auditors visited compared with before the project began. Elsewhere, a newly built tunnel was not connected to a road, while another railway project ended abruptly at a national border.

Auditors also questioned whether some EU grants had been necessary, noting that several loan agreements had already been signed before grant applications were submitted, raising the possibility that the investments would have proceeded without EU funding.

The ECA reviewed 12 road, rail and inland waterway projects worth €341.6mn in Bosnia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.