EU and Western Balkans further strengthen cooperation in research and innovation

Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva and Ministers from the Western Balkans met in Podgorica to advance the region's integration into the EU's research and innovation ecosystem.

They endorsed key recommendations to align Western Balkans policies with major EU initiatives, including the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, European Research Area Act and European Innovation Act.

Commissioner Zaharieva said:

"Today, we are setting the stage for a new era of collaboration, one where ideas travel freely, innovation drives growth, and the Western Balkans move closer to Europe's research and innovation ecosystem."

Participants highlighted the importance of research infrastructures and artificial intelligence in science, as well as smart specialisation strategies to address the challenges of both the green and digital transitions. The conclusions of the Ministerial meeting include commitments to support private sector engagement through funding, capacity building and skills development.

The implementation of the Western Balkans Growth Plan and greater participation in European programmes like COST and Eureka were identified as priority areas for advancing regional economic competitiveness.

Bilateral discussions focused on reducing the innovation gap between the EU and Western Balkans through enhanced cooperation between industry and academia, as well as expanding mobility programmes and research schemes with EU Member States.

Background

With the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, the region continues to move along the path towards closer cooperation with the EU in these policy areas, thus contributing to the enlargement agenda.

Smart specialisation is key tool to boost innovation ecosystems and local development. As of 2018, all Western Balkans economies expressed their willingness to pursue the improvement of innovation policies by applying the smart specialisation approach with guidance and technical support of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans aims to bring the Western Balkans partners closer to the EU through offering some of the benefits of EU membership to the region in advance of accession, boosting economic growth and accelerating socio-economic convergence.

The Plan is supported by a new performance-based financing instrument, the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans. It works with up to €6 billion for the period 2024-2027.

The Ministerial meeting on research and innovation and on smart specialisation strategies marked another step forward in the Western Balkans' path toward closer EU integration in research and innovation policy areas. It provided an excellent opportunity to discuss progress on research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the region.

The European Commission was represented by the Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva,10 Ministers were present from the region, while 10 Member States were represented by their ambassadors, delegated to Montenegro.

More information

International cooperation with the Western Balkans in research and innovation

Implementing the Western Balkans Agenda - Monitoring Cards Published by POLICY ANSWERS (July 2025)

ERA Country Reports 2024

European Innovation Scoreboard 2025 Released

Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3)

Knowledge Hub on Smart Specialisation in the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region

Press contact:

EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation