The World Bank has included the media outlet "Vox News" as a reference source in its latest report on the use of European Union pre-accession funds (IPA) in the Western Balkan countries.
The report emphasizes that political deadlocks and sanctions have significantly impacted the absorption of European funds, citing as examples Kosovo's delays in accessing 600 million euros from the EU recovery fund, as well as the suspension of IPA III disbursements in Albania, which were foreseen for rural development.
“The key issue,” the report says, “is not the volume of funds available, but the ability of national administrations to translate them into concrete reforms and investments.” The World Bank highlights the need for better planning, faster project implementation, strengthening administrative capacities, and resolving bottlenecks in public procurement.
In the analytical section, the report cites data collected by Vox News (2025) , along with other sources such as CNN Albania (2024) and GAP Institute (2020), including Vox News in one of the most important international reports on the performance of countries in the region in managing EU funds.
The report's graphs show that Albania and Kosovo are among the countries with the lowest absorption of funds compared to other small and more developed economies in Central Europe.