Western Balkan leaders push reforms for EU aid

(ANSA-AFP) - TIRANA, FEB 29 - Western Balkan leaders pushed Thursday to speed up economic reforms in exchange for financial aid and an accelerated path to EU membership. They gathered at a summit in the Albanian capital to discuss the European Union's plan to boost its integration with the region's economies. "For the first time, we... in the Western Balkans agree that the European Union is doing not just business as usual but the extra mile to come closer to us, to support our economic growth and our integration with a new growth plan," Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama told reporters. The bloc has vowed to help double the economy of the Western Balkans over the next 10 years, with a six-billion-euro ($6.35 billion) growth plan.
    (ANSA-AFP).