On 13 November 2018 the working group on the Western Balkans met in Tirana, Albania. The ECR group was represented by Pavel Branda, Deputy Mayor of Rádlo municipality and ECR spokesperson on Cohesion Policy. The main topic of the meeting was territorial reform and, especially, the amalgamation of municipalities.

Mr Branda shared experiences from his own country (Czech Republic) and recommended that rather than being not merely dependent on subsidies and grants, municipalities should have a sure and stable share of the budget that would allow them not only to finance operational costs, but also their development. He also stressed that smaller municipalities had some advantages of their own, including the fact that they were better suited for involving citizens in decision-making, in accordance with the principles of participative democracy, and in building local identities.