Policy paper

UK–Western Balkans region development partnership summary, July 2023

Published 17 July 2023

Introduction

The Strategy for International Development (IDS) places development at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy. It sets out a new approach to development, anchored in patient, long-term partnerships tailored to the needs of the countries we work with, built on mutual accountability and transparency. This approach goes beyond aid and brings the combined power of the UK’s global economic, scientific, security and diplomatic strengths to our development partnerships.

Our 4 priorities are to deliver honest, reliable investment, provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed, step up our life-saving humanitarian work, and take forward our work on climate change, nature and global health. The Integrated Review Refresh (IR23) reiterates that sustainable development is central to UK foreign policy and sets out how the UK will go further and faster on development to reduce poverty and reinvigorate progress towards the SDGs.

This Country Development Partnership Summary details how the IDS and IR23 will be put into practice with the Western Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia).

Regional context

The Western Balkans (WB) are central to UK and European security. The UK is a longstanding partner supporting change and reform, working to help overcome the legacy of communism and the conflicts of the 1990s, and to increase the region’s capacity to solve new challenges.

With stability still fragile the Western Balkans remain vulnerable to internal and external destabilising influences. NATO and EU peacekeeping missions remain in Kosovo and BiH. Corruption and Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) are major problems. This is compounded by ongoing low trust in institutions, gender inequality and continuing ethnic divisions in the region. The conflict in Ukraine has increased the risk of instability as some of the region is reliant on Russia for energy, with fuel costs playing a role in inflationary cycles and unresolved issues such as justice for victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) brought to the fore. Illegal migration from Albania poses a significant risk to the UK, with Albanian arrivals exceeding every other nationality in 2022.

Patriarchal gender norms persist in the region. Although legal provisions conform to international norms, implementation is patchy, and women and girls face significant challenges including family discrimination, restricted access to financial resources, lack of economic participation, and limited access to justice for victims of gender based and sexual violence. There are low levels of meaningful participation in decision-making in some Western Balkans countries. Rates of Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) remain high across the region and legal protections and services are weak. Novel issues such as cyber-attacks and data leaks, online gender-based violence, and gendered disinformation campaigns have the potential to further limit progress towards gender equality in the region.

Our development work is focused on helping address long-term, structural and societal issues across the region, including ethno-nationalist division, gender inequality and VAWG, lack of transparency and accountability in government. We also support resolving legacy issues (transitional justice, CRSV, missing persons, war crimes, and discrimination against minorities), addressing key drivers of illegal migration and SOC, and strengthening democratic society through support for media freedom, good governance and gender equality.

Working with governments in partnership to support their reform priorities, with a focus on involving citizens in decisions that affect their communities, we employ our political and diplomatic activity and our programming to address these issues and make use of opportunities to further stability and prosperity in the region.

Priorities for individual countries include:

• in BiH, a focus on supporting inclusive, progressive democratic actors to push back against State capture and ethno-nationalism, while building national resilience against threats, including on cyber and defence. We also support civil society and reconciliation, including work related to missing persons and supporting survivors of sexual violence. BiH remains a Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) champion country and our work with TRIAL International helped secure legal changes in Brcko District which grant specific rights to individuals who were born as a result of sexual violence

• in North Macedonia the priority is achieving a stable and democratic North Macedonia that embraces UK values of freedom, democracy and open society, with a government better able to deliver for its citizens, resilient to hostile state interference, and making positive and effective contribution to regional stability as a reliable NATO partner. Support to the preparation of the 20-year National Development Strategy has enhanced the UK’s influence as a trusted partner in North Macedonia’s development trajectory, increasing political buy-in from the government and other partners, and ultimately, giving a greater chance of successful reform at this key moment in the country’s future

• in Kosovo, we support civil society organisations and the government to increase transparency and accountability in public institutions, to improve governance and institutional capacity, and to address corruption and reduce organised crime. UK programming efforts and technical input from HM Revenue & Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service led to the first successful conviction of money laundering as a standalone offence. Our programmes also help build trust between communities and foster social cohesion to promote inclusion and support Kosovo with legacy conflict issues including missing persons and survivors of sexual violence

• in Montenegro, our focus is on promoting stability and prosperity of a NATO partner by improving democratic processes to increase resilience to hostile state interference, ensuring long-term commitment to Euro-Atlantic values and reducing its susceptibility to serious and organised crime through structural reform work. We do this through projects that support integrity of elections and critical government infrastructure, promote rule of law and accountability of political actors and tackle barriers to women’s access to power and justice. UK funding of election monitoring enabled swift acceptance of election results and reduced the space for instability which contributed to a peaceful transition of power after 30 years of rule by a single political party

• in Albania activity includes work to address the drivers and enablers of illegal migration. Working with the Parliament to foster a more direct engagement between ordinary citizens and politicians, and with political parties to reform political party financing and facilitate a more transparent election system and support investigative journalists. We also work with Albanian law enforcement agencies to strengthen their capacity to solve and reduce crime, police their borders and build resilience to cyber attacks

• in Serbia, we support progress on the country’s European integration goals, as well as commitment to European security, regional stability and reconciliation, rule of law and democratic values. Our programming focuses on strengthening democratic processes, increasing transparency and accountability, supporting civil society organisations (CSOs) and building resilience to disinformation. We work with national and local authorities and CSOs to increase citizens’ engagement in policy-making processes, as well as with the Parliament and political parties, supporting independent media, election monitoring and strengthening cyber security capacity

Why and how: the UK’s development offer with the Western Balkans

The UK’s objective for the region is for the 6 Western Balkans countries (WB6) to be stable democracies, inclusive societies, resilient to external threats, actively tackling serious organised crime, and overcoming divisive ethnic-nationalism and conflict. We involve citizens in decisions that affect their communities, which in turn should increase the accountability of political elites and governments. We work with governments on areas they themselves wish to reform which strengthens our bilateral relationships and builds the capacity necessary for reform to be successful.

The UK remains committed to supporting reconciliation, and we continue to focus on security as a priority, including to combat Serious and Organised Crime. Working alongside our closest partners, we blend intensified political and diplomatic activity (including a Western Balkans Special Envoy) with targeted development programming.

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programming is focused on security of the Western Balkans and disrupting direct threats to the UK, strengthening independent media and making electoral systems more resilient, and building cyber security resilience and supporting the fight against SOC and corruption. FCDO bilateral programming supports Western Balkans countries and societies to manage change and the legacy of conflict peacefully and implement reforms that benefit citizens, thus increasing the resilience of the region, its governments and its societies to shocks and instability.

Across the region, we focus on increasing women’s and girls’ participation in democratic systems and accountable institutions, and improving their ability to access services and economic opportunities. This includes:

• increasing access to justice for survivors of gender based violence (GBV) across the Western Balkans through mentoring and support
• empowering young women and girls in their local communities, and enabling their economic independence in North Macedonia
• supporting independent, accountable and meritocratic recruitment, that is inclusive to all genders in Kosovo
• supporting mechanisms to provide women with greater access to political decision-making and business opportunities in Montenegro
• responding to high levels of GBV in Serbia by supporting women’s shelters, as well as working with national authorities and CSOs to increase the safety of women and girls in public spaces

The UK has long supported efforts to address the legacy and combat the stigma of CRSV in the region, including through the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) London Conference in 2014 and the 2022 conference, and ongoing support to CSOs working on the issue. We support sustainable assistance schemes for survivors of CRSV in BiH and work to address the long-term effects of sexual violence and ending stigmatisation of survivors of CRSV during the war in Kosovo.

UK programmes, though relatively modest in scale by comparison with EU activity, for example, have been able to have an impact, through work with multilateral donors, international and local partners to strengthen stability, democracy and rule of law and to tackle crime and corruption. UK expertise and agility is welcomed by the WB6 and international partners. Our media development work pivoted during the Covid pandemic to address the issue of misinformation. Alongside our own programming, we have been able to leverage funding from other donors who have bigger funding envelopes (notably the EU, US and international financial institutions).

Our support to resolve legacy issues, for example, locating and identifying missing persons and tackling CRSV and war crimes contributes directly to reconciliation and transitional justice. There are clear humanitarian and policy grounds for this work and the UK has been recognised by relevant stakeholders as the leading international actor for many years. We have also seen examples of UK-funded projects rallying other donors to the transitional justice cause. For example, the EU has decided to invest significant resources to upscale activities related to regional war crimes prosecution, while Germany has been a partner donor to the ICMP’s missing persons intervention. New war crime files have been shared between Serbia and BiH and our work on missing persons has brought government representatives from 5 countries in the region together to launch a landmark public regional database and exchange information on clandestine graves and exhumations.

We also support wider economic development in the region through our trade and diplomatic efforts. In North Macedonia, we funded the visit of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs to a Hydrogen Economy conference to raise awareness and to promote UK expertise in alternative energy sources. UK Export Finance also has a role to play in developing His Majesty’s Government’s economic statecraft by deepening relationships between UK investors and the business community in the Western Balkans, and is providing export finance in support of the Morava Corridor Motorway, in Serbia. The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for the Western Balkans supports the drive for economic growth in the Western Balkans by building on the UK’s existing relations and encouraging engagement by UK businesses in the region.

Who we work with

We have worked with most of the International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and many UN agencies through our programming over recent years. Primary partners have included the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Union (EU), GIZ (German technical cooperation), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In North Macedonia we are currently co-funding a project with USAID focused on cyber security and co-fund a project focused capacity building of the Kosovan Probation Service with the Dutch. We also work with international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local NGOs and foundations. Particularly through CSSF funding, we have utilised UK Government commercial frameworks to deliver competitive value projects with a range of commercial partners, including on cybersecurity.

We aim to coordinate our activity with other donors in country and work in a complementary way. All the major development actors are present in the region, with the top donors being the EU and US, as well as the international organisations (UN, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, EBRD, Council of Europe, OSCE). Individual EU member states, Switzerland, Norway and Japan also operate bilateral and regional programmes. Areas of focus include democracy, elections, media, education, transitional justice, rule of law, cyber security and institutional capacity building.

Key programmes

The Freedom and Resilience Programme is a new 3-year (2022 to 2025) bilateral FCDO programme which works through projects in all 6 countries of the Western Balkans. Programming is country-led, with specific activity in line with Posts’ priorities and those of host countries. The intended impact of our work through FRP is that Western Balkans Six (WB6) countries are more stable, inclusive and resilient to the risk of violent conflict. The intended programme outcomes are:

1. improved reconciliation and peacebuilding outcomes for conflict-affected communities, with a focus on building connections across conflict divides and strengthening access to transitional justice processes

2. empowerment of women and girls through tackling CRSV, GBV and promoting women’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes

3. more transparent and accountable governance through building state capacity and strengthening civil society

The programme builds on earlier programming through the Good Governance Fund (2015 to 2022) and the Stability Programme (2018 to 2023).  Our aim is to ensure that alongside support to develop policies and legal foundations, we are building the capability required to ensure effective implementation and delivery for longer-term impact.

The Good Governance Fund (2015 to 2022) supported governance and economic reform in BiH, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and reviews noted its success particularly in the area of policy reform and delivery There were numerous instances of GGF projects which contributed to longer term outcomes, such as tangible benefits to citizens (via better services) and businesses (via better operating conditions).

In Serbia during the COVID pandemic, the culmination of several GGF projects around digitalisation of public services had created a sufficient body of knowledge, processes and behavioural change inside Serbia’s administration by the time of the pandemic to enable the government to roll out an impressive vaccination programme managed online. Another notable success, from BiH, was a project to develop a Transport Strategy, blocked by administrative politics for a decade, which unlocked hundreds of millions of euros, including €260 million from the EU immediately on its adoption, and a further $600 million from the World Bank later.

In Montenegro, GGF supported establishment of the Secretariat for the Competitiveness Council, a new channel for the private sector to engage with the government on proposed improvements to the business environment, which amongst other achievements has led directly to streamlining the process of new business registration.

The Stability Programme (closed March 2023) made a strong contribution towards building resilience, with evidence that projects had helped those most affected by social trauma of conflict receive the necessary support to reintegrate into daily life and that selected institutions became more effective in promoting reconciliation, building peace and addressing discrimination. For example the UNDP Regional War Crime Project increased the effectiveness of prosecutions of war crime cases in BiH, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia by improving regional cooperation among prosecution services leading to implementation of a legal framework facilitating cross-border cooperation.

In North Macedonia the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination has an effective, focussed and functioning equalities service, building its capability and leading it to prioritise more effectively, with one example being the case of a child with Downs Syndrome excluded from school, leading to a requirement for schools to follow advice which has resulted in keeping all children with special needs in inclusive education.

Alongside our FCDO departmental programming, cross-government CSSF Programming aims to improve the stability of the region by tackling state threats and serious organised crime (SOC). State Threats-focussed programming includes projects to strengthen cyber resilience and the ability to resist a cyber-attack, improve the sustainability of independent media and counter disinformation, defence engagement and capacity building and supporting reforms required for accession to NATO/Alliance integration.

SOC Programming aims to support a more effective response by governments and relevant agencies in the Western Balkans (WB) to mitigate the effects of and reduce the permissive environment for serious and organised crime. The Programme’s overarching aim is a reduced impact and threat of SOC in the Western Balkans and the UK.

Financial information

Initial allocations have been set internally to deliver the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy (May 2022) and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, based on the FCDO’s Spending Review 2021 settlement.

The department’s spending plans for the period 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025 have been revisited to ensure His Majesty’s Government continues to spend around 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA. This was in the context of the significant and unexpected costs incurred to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK, and others seeking asylum. The Government provided additional resources of £1 billion in 2022 to 2023 and £1.5 billion in 2023 to 2024 to help meet these unanticipated costs. The Government remains committed to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal situation allows, in line with the approach confirmed by the House of Commons in July 2021.

The Country Development Partnership Summaries include the breakdown of programme budgets allocated to individual countries for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025. These allocations are indicative and subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.

These figures do not reflect the full range of UK ODA spending in each individual country/region. This is because they do not include spend delivered through core contributions to multilateral organisations – and country allocations do not include regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Other UK Government departments also spend a large amount of ODA overseas. Details of ODA spent by other UK government departments can be found in their annual report and accounts and the Statistics for International Development.

FCDO Official Development Assistance allocations

FCDO ODA Programming for 2023 to 2024 by theme

Figure 1. Governance, 45%; Peacebuilding, 28%; Women and Girls, 27%

Western Balkans Department’s expected ODA budgets for financial year 2023 to 2024 and financial 2024 to 2025 are shown below. These figures are for the FCDO bilateral ODA allocation for the region and do not include, for example, spend through Centrally Managed Programmes or through CSSF.

Our FCDO ODA programming is marked as being significantly focused on promoting gender equality and is marked as not targeted on disability inclusion, although some projects have disability inclusion elements.

Allocated ODA budget financial year 2023 to 2024	Indicative ODA budget Financial year 2024 to 2025
£5.7 million	£13 million

Supporting information sources:

• FCDO Evaluation Repository
• DevTracker