Depollution Roadmap
Under the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans (GAWB), Pillar 3 supports efforts to reduce air, water, and soil pollution and strengthen environmental protection across the Western Balkans Six (WB6), in alignment with the EU environmental acquis. It contributes to improved environmental governance and public health by advancing pollution prevention, strengthening monitoring and reporting systems, and promoting investments in environmental infrastructure.
In the Green Agenda Action Plan (2021–2030), this Pillar focuses on aligning with EU air quality, water, and industrial emissions legislation, improving wastewater treatment and water protection systems, strengthening pollution monitoring and data reporting, and addressing key sources of environmental pollution across the region.
The Revised Action Plan (2025–2030) maintains these priorities while placing stronger emphasis on implementation and measurable progress. Particular focus is given to strengthening pollution monitoring frameworks, advancing alignment with EU environmental directives, improving wastewater and water management infrastructure, and enhancing enforcement mechanisms.
The overall objective remains the reduction of pollution levels, the improvement of environmental quality, the protection of ecosystems and public health, and the gradual convergence of the WB6 with EU environmental standards.
REGIONAL PROGRESS OVERVIEW
The information presented below is based on the Reports on the Implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans Action Plan (GARI). These reports consolidate inputs from regional institutions and monitoring frameworks and assess progress in air quality, water management, industrial emissions, wastewater treatment, and soil protection across the WB6.
The 2025 GARI indicates that the WB6 continue to face persistent environmental pressures, particularly air pollution, water quality and soil contamination, with air pollution the leading environmental concern for 61% of WB6 citizens and water pollution for 52% according to the Balkan Barometer 2025. Progress during the reporting period was driven primarily by infrastructure investments in air quality monitoring and wastewater treatment, supported by the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), alongside gradual legislative alignment. At the same time, emissions from large combustion plants remained well above the permitted ceilings in several WB6, and further efforts are required to advance the transposition and implementation of the relevant EU environmental directives and to strengthen policy coordination to sustain progress under the depollution pillar.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
The key recommendations include the following:
- Complete ratification of the outstanding Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) protocols across the WB6, particularly the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol (amended version) and the 1998 Protocols on Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals.
- Prioritise review and stakeholder dialogue on the Task Force on Integrated Assessment Modelling (TFIAM) / Centre for Integrated Assessment Modelling (CIAM) policy brief on emission reduction targets, and use the preliminary Emission Reduction Commitments developed under EU4Green and ENVAP as the basis for formalising domestic-level emission reduction commitments for SO₂, NOx, NH₃, NMVOC and PM2.5.
- Adopt and implement air quality strategies without further delay, particularly in Montenegro and Kosovo*, and develop spatially differentiated air quality plans that reflect variation between urban and rural areas.
- Accelerate adoption of pending air quality legislation at the domestic-level in Bosnia and Herzegovina and expand local air quality plan coverage and pollution cadastres in North Macedonia.
- Strengthen compliance with domestic Emission Reduction Plan (NERP) emission ceilings, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, bring existing desulphurisation equipment into full operation, and advance the decommissioning of thermal power plants operating under expired opt-out schemes.
- Strengthen Best Available Techniques (BAT) based permitting capacity, particularly in Albania and Kosovo*, and use Carbon Border Adjustment mechanism (CBAM) obligations (in full force from 1 January 2026) and the 2027 NERP compliance deadline as leverage to accelerate BAT uptake; establish domestic Reference Laboratories for air quality monitoring in all WB6, following the precedent set by Montenegro.
- Finalise and adopt pending water legislation and River Basin Management Plans, and align WB6 water governance with the European Water Resilience Strategy alongside the core EU water acquis.
- Modernise water monitoring infrastructure, secure long-term operational financing for wastewater treatment plants, and strengthen project preparation for the WBIF 2024–2030 wastewater pipeline of 23 planned projects.
- Strengthen the Western Balkans Soil Partnership and accelerate the regional soil database and contaminated-sites registry; strengthen regional coordination on transboundary air and water pollution and establish a GAWB depollution monitoring framework with standardised indicators.
ACTIONS
The Observatory integrates selected indicators from the Balkan Barometer 2025 surveys to complement implementation tracking with public and business perceptions data on issues relevant to the Green Agenda.
Public Opinion
Source: Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) (2025) Balkan Barometer 2025: Public Opinion Survey, online database, Indicator “What are your greatest environmental concerns in your community?”.