The primary objective of this assignment is to provide the relevant EU services and the wider public with an independent assessment on the extent and manner in which the EU’s cooperation, particularly through the Commission, with pre-accession candidates in the Western Balkans has contributed to their alignment with EU standards under Chapter 24 of the acquis, as well as with the EU Pact on Migration, covering the period from 2018 to 2023.
In particular, this evaluation aims to:

• To assess the EU's support on migration management, border control and asylum, through the IPA instrument, particularly its efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, impact and added value.
• To assess the EU cooperation potential and the EU added value.
• To provide conclusions based on objective, credible, reliable, and valid data.
• To identify key lessons, best practices and to produce recommendations in order to improve the current and future EU strategies, programmes and actions.

Country case studies were conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.