The Western Balkans has secured around €237 million in EU research funding across more than 1,000 projects. Now Brussels and six regional partners have agreed to deepen scientific cooperation, support young researchers and develop a new action plan to accelerate European integration.
BRUSSELS, Oct. 22 (BalkanView) – The European Union and six Western Balkan partners have endorsed a joint declaration to strengthen research and innovation cooperation, placing universities, scientific careers and technology development at the centre of efforts to bring the region closer to EU membership.
The agreement, reached at a ministerial meeting in Brussels on Thursday, brings together Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia in a renewed partnership aimed at improving research opportunities and strengthening innovation ecosystems.
The declaration also provides for the preparation of a new joint action plan, which is expected to translate political commitments into concrete measures supporting scientific excellence, innovation and closer integration with European research networks.
The meeting was hosted by European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva and co-chaired by Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless.
“With the endorsement of this joint declaration, we are opening a new chapter in EU-Western Balkans cooperation in research and innovation,” Zaharieva said.
“Together, we will develop concrete actions to strengthen research excellence, support innovation and bring the region closer to the European Union.”
€237 million in EU research funding
The European Commission said the six Western Balkan partners had already secured approximately €237 million through Horizon Europe, the EU’s principal research and innovation funding programme.
The funding covers more than 1,000 projects involving institutions and researchers from the region.
EU research funding Secured by Western Balkan partnersProjects Involving regional institutionsRegional partners Participating in the declaration
Horizon Europe has an overall budget of €95.5 billion for the 2021–2027 period and supports collaborative scientific research, technological development and innovation across Europe and partner countries.
Participation enables Western Balkan universities, research institutes and businesses to cooperate with European institutions, compete for funding and take part in international research projects.
The Commission did not provide a country-by-country breakdown of the €237 million in its announcement.
Keeping researchers and innovators in the region
The Brussels meeting, held under the theme “Research and Innovation as accelerators for EU integration,” focused on two priorities: research careers and innovation ecosystems.
Strengthening research careers involves improving opportunities for scientists and supporting their professional development, while innovation ecosystems connect universities, research institutions, businesses and other organisations involved in developing new technologies.
These areas are particularly relevant to the Western Balkans, where the development of competitive research institutions and knowledge-based industries is closely connected to economic modernisation.
Closer participation in European research programmes can provide opportunities for regional scientists to work in international teams, access funding and strengthen their institutions’ research capabilities.
Zaharieva also presented a dedicated innovation award to young innovators from the Western Balkans, highlighting the importance of the region’s emerging scientific and entrepreneurial talent.
Twenty years of EU-Western Balkans research cooperation
The meeting marked the 20th anniversary of the Western Balkans Steering Platform on Research and Innovation.
Established in 2006, the platform brings together the European Commission, representatives of the six Western Balkan partners, EU member states and the wider research community.
Over the past two decades, it has supported cooperation between scientific institutions and helped the six partners become fully associated with successive EU research programmes.
The new declaration builds on that cooperation and on the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, launched in 2021.
That agenda established a long-term framework for developing knowledge-based economies, strengthening education and improving regional cooperation.
Its priorities include digital transformation, climate action, scientific excellence, investment in human capital and closer alignment with European research and innovation policies.
Research cooperation becomes part of EU enlargement
The latest agreement reflects the EU’s efforts to use research and innovation cooperation to support the Western Balkans’ integration into European institutions.
Unlike formal accession negotiations, participation in European research programmes allows institutions from the region to cooperate with EU partners before their countries become members.
This creates opportunities for researchers, universities and businesses to develop working relationships within European scientific networks while national governments pursue broader political and institutional reforms.
The European Commission has identified investment in research, education and innovation as an important element of the region’s economic development and competitiveness.
For the six Western Balkan partners, the challenge will be to turn access to European programmes into stronger domestic research capacity, more competitive innovation systems and sustainable opportunities for scientists.
What happens next?
The joint declaration sets the stage for negotiations on a new EU-Western Balkans action plan covering research careers, scientific excellence and innovation ecosystems.
The Commission has not yet announced a timetable for completing the plan or specified additional funding commitments under the declaration.
Its implementation will determine how far the renewed political commitment translates into practical opportunities for universities, researchers, startups and research institutions across the region.
For the Western Balkans, the agreement signals that scientific cooperation is becoming an increasingly important part of its relationship with the European Union, alongside economic integration and institutional reform.