Implement the Regional Transport Facilitation Action Plan

ROADMAP PROGRESS

The GARI 2025 reports uneven progress across the WB6 in implementing the Next Generation Transport Facilitation Action Plan, with the average implementation rate of 30%. Activities focused on improving the operation of road and railway border/boundary crossing points through joint-control arrangements, bilateral legal and operational frameworks, infrastructure modernisation, customs cooperation and transport digitalisation under the Transport Community framework.

Implementation of measures concerning railway border/boundary crossings stands at 19%, compared with 33% for road crossings and 39% for horizontal measures. Progress on railway crossings remained particularly limited, although the joint railway-control arrangement between Montenegro and Serbia at Bijelo Polje continued to operate. On road transport, a Kosovo* and North Macedonia launched joint passenger-vehicle controls  at Hani i Elezit/Blace in May 2025, one-stop controls were introduced at Tabanovce/Presevo in July 2025, and a second joint crossing between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro (Sitnica/Zupci) opened in April 2025. Horizontal measures covered administrative-capacity development, digitalisation and e-freight. By August 2025, domestic eFTI working groups had been established in Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo*, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia were advancing their establishment.

Under the EU-WB6 Green Lanes initiative, financing was agreed for the modernisation of 11 priority crossings through the Safe and Sustainable Transport Programme 2.0, with the total requirement estimated at EUR 57 million. Further progress will require accelerated infrastructure investment, stronger legal and operational frameworks for joint controls, enhanced customs and inter-agency cooperation, improved administrative capacities and wider deployment of interoperable data-exchange and e-freight systems.

Note: Action 22 of the first Green Agenda Action Plan (2021–2030), concerning the implementation of the Regional Transport Facilitation Action Plan, is not retained in the Revised Action Plan  (2025–2030). The action was removed because it was assessed to have a limited direct impact on reducing air pollution and on the greening of the transport sector.

Source: Transport Community (2025). Progress Report on Implementation of Next Generation Action Plans and EU Acquis Transposition for Western Balkans. Belgrade: Transport Community Secretariat. Data reproduced in: Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) (2025). Report on the Implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans Action Plan (GARI 2025). Sarajevo: RCC, the charts on the efficiency of railway and road border/boundary crossings (Section 2.3).

Source: Transport Community (2025). Progress Report on Implementation of Next Generation Action Plans and EU Acquis Transposition for Western Balkans. Belgrade: Transport Community Secretariat. Data reproduced in: Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) (2025). Report on the Implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans Action Plan (GARI 2025), Figure 13. Sarajevo: RCC.