Progressive integration of Western Balkans into the EU
Developing a coherent policy framework to guide the gradual integration of Western Balkans into the EU.
Through data-driven analyses of socio-economic indicators, the project will evaluate the EU’s new Growth Plan for Western Balkans, assess its potential, and identify priority policy areas for enhanced cooperation. The aim is to provide EU policymakers and national governments with actionable recommendations that foster alignment and maximize economic benefits for the region. The project also looks at intra Western Balkans relations and how more regional integration can benefit relations with the EU.
Featured content
Challenges to the integration of the Western Balkans into European Union supply chains
Western Balkan EU integration has deepened, yet rising non-tariff barriers and new EU rules keep trade costs high despite zero tariffs
Montenegro’s power connection to the EU
How do Montenegro and the Western Balkans manage electricity, CBAM and the green transition?
The Western Balkan energy sector: between Russia, the European Union and the green transition
This paper analyses energy transitions in the Western Balkans, away from dependence on Russia and towards the EU electricity market
EU enlargement momentum risks falling victim to veto power
The path to European Union enlargement seems to be narrowing, with only a couple of countries currently able to squeeze through the gap
A bigger Single Market before enlargement: how to integrate the Western Balkans ahead of accession
Can the region capitalise on the momentum to overcome its region-specific hurdles?
Western Balkan migration: win-win or brain drain?
Why have workers from the six countries been heading to Germany, and will they keep going or start to stay home?
Migration flows from the Western Balkans to Germany: implications and recommendations
Migration to Germany is shaping the Western Balkans for better and worse, highlighting the need for reforms to harness benefits and mitigate drawbacks
Economic convergence, demography, labour markets: what progress have EU candidate countries made?
Candidate countries remain far from European Union averages in terms of GDP per capita and their demographic and labour market characteristics
How can the Western Balkans make EU integration a success story?
How can the EU encourage intra-regional trade in the Western Balkans?
Intra-Western Balkans dynamics: stocktaking and ways ahead
This paper explores the barriers to, and prospects for, deeper intra-Western Balkan economic relationships
Understanding Serbian youth discontent through the lens of the labour market
As young Serbians arrive in Brussels to highlight the changes they want to see in Serbia, the EU should show stronger support for their demands
The Western Balkans: a region in waiting
Stalled integration but a new growth plan for six countries bound to the EU by culture and geography
'Green tech partnership' offers way to de-risk while decarbonizing
Dependence on China carries supply risks beyond just geopolitics
The changing dynamics of the Western Balkans on the road to European Union membership: an update
This paper concentrates on economic and social convergence in the region and the economic and institutional aspects of EU accession
The rocky road to EU accession for Western Balkan countries: obstacles and lessons from the Eastern Partnership
The three eastern European states had practically no waiting time before being accepted as candidate countries right after application
The benefits of bringing the Western Balkans into the European Semester
Integrating the Western Balkan countries into the European Union’s European Semester process is both feasible and desirable.
How should Western Balkan countries seize the opportunity of the EU’s new growth plan
At this event we focused on the EU's proposed growth plan for the Western Balkans
Bruegel team
Heather Grabbe
Bruegel Senior Fellow
Armin Steinbach
Bruegel Non-resident Fellow (on leave for public service)
Nina Vujanović
Bruegel Affiliate Fellow