Serbia and Albania: projects driving closer integration with the European Union

Closer ties between the Western Balkans and the European Union are not built solely at the negotiating table. They take shape project by project, through public service reforms, new infrastructure, and modernized power grids. In both Serbia and Albania, AFD Group is providing financing and expertise to support progress toward European standards. This is an investment in Europe’s sustainable development, sovereignty, and energy security.

In Serbia, Christophe Lecourtier visited Kalenić, where a major waste management project is being implemented with support from AFD Group. Alongside Sara Pavkov, Minister of Environmental Protection, and a representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), he saw first-hand the challenges involved in modernizing the sector and improving waste management.

In Albania, this cooperation is taking a different form in Durrës. In the country’s second-largest city, AFD signed financing for the first phase of a wastewater project, through a sovereign loan supplemented by a European Union delegated grant.

The project aims to increase the share of wastewater collected and treated from 20% to 85%. It therefore directly supports Albania’s progress under Chapter 27 of the EU accession negotiations, which covers environment and climate change.

“We are very proud to launch this major project for Durrës,” said Christophe Lecourtier. “It fully demonstrates what Team Europe can achieve when the European Union, France through AFD, and Albania join forces. This project marks another important milestone in our partnership with Albania.”

Opportunities for French companies

Supporting transformations in Albania and Serbia also means strengthening economic ties, including by creating opportunities for French companies. In sectors such as energy, water, waste management, transport, and infrastructure, French companies offer sought-after expertise and are already helping transform the region.

In both Belgrade and Tirana, Christophe Lecourtier met with French companies involved in these transformations. At Nikola Tesla Airport, operated by Vinci Airports with support from Proparco, and in Durrës, where French engineering firms Artelia and Seureca helped prepare the wastewater project, French expertise is already playing a role. For these companies, projects financed by AFD Group provide opportunities to apply their expertise to transformations that address European priorities.

A member of the Western Balkans Investment Framework since 2022, AFD Group operates in the region as part of Team Europe, combining its own financing with European Union delegated grants. This approach brings together financing, expertise, and shared priorities to accelerate the transformations needed for European integration.

In both Serbia and Albania, the objective is therefore twofold: to support countries on their path toward the European Union and to turn that prospect into tangible improvements in people’s daily lives.