Strengthening the European Research Area: The EU–Western Balkans

The European Union’s commitment to an inclusive, competitive, and geographically coherent Research and Innovation landscape is gaining new momentum. At the centre of this effort is the EU–Western Balkans Research & Innovation Agenda, a comprehensive framework designed to deepen cooperation with six partner countries and accelerate their integration into the European Research Area (ERA).

A Strategic Framework for Regional Convergence

The Western Balkans R&I Agenda reflects the EU’s broader enlargement agenda, recognising that scientific excellence, innovation capacity, and knowledge-based economies do not stop at EU borders. By investing in the research and innovation ecosystems of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, the EU is building the conditions for long-term economic convergence and shared progress on Europe’s most pressing challenges, from climate and energy to mobility, food systems, and digital transformation.

A cornerstone of this approach is the full association of all six Western Balkan partners to Horizon Europe, granting them access to EU-funded research and innovation programmes on equal terms with Member States. The results are already tangible: Western Balkan participants have secured over €183 million across more than 500 Horizon Europe projects, with particularly strong engagement in areas such as climate, energy, mobility, and agri-food systems.

Beyond funding access, the strategy is underpinned by structural instruments designed to build lasting capacity. The EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans supports economic reforms and targeted R&I investments, while Smart Specialisation Strategies help partner countries identify and develop their areas of competitive advantage. Equally important are the governance mechanisms that give structure to this cooperation, notably the Western Balkans Steering Platform on R&I, which provides a forum for coordinated policy dialogue between the European Commission, EU Member States, and Western Balkan partner countries.

Presented at the 33rd ESEIA General Assembly

The Western Balkans R&I Agenda was brought into direct dialogue with the ESEIA alliance at the 33rd General Assembly, held online on 16 April 2026. A key highlight of this edition was an invited presentation by Ágota Dávid, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), who offered an overview of the strategy and its evolving policy directions, placing it in the broader context of EU enlargement, Horizon Europe association, and the integration of Western Balkan partners into the European Research Area. The discussion that followed reaffirmed the relevance of these developments for ESEIA members, particularly in the context of widening participation and international collaboration.

ESEIA’s Role: The INITIATE Project

ESEIA’s engagement with this agenda goes beyond policy dialogue. As a partner in the INITIATE project, a Horizon Europe initiative co-created with stakeholders from Widening countries, SMEs, and public agencies, ESEIA is actively contributing to the institutional transformation of higher education institutions to strengthen R&I capacity and scientific excellence. For ESEIA, INITIATE is a direct and practical contribution to the goals the Western Balkans R&I Agenda calls for: building the institutional foundations and collaborative frameworks that make regional integration into the ERA meaningful and sustainable.

  *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/1999 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Sources

1. European Commission – DG Research and Innovation. Western Balkans: Research and Innovation. https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-research-and-innovation/europe-world/international-cooperation/regional-dialogues-and-international-organisations/western-balkans_en
2. European Commission. Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/growth-plan-western-balkans_en
3. European Commission. Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (Regulation (EU) 2024/1449, entered into force May 2024). €6 billion financial envelope for 2024–2027. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-technical-assistance/reform-and-growth-facility-western-balkans_en
4. WBC-RTI.INFO / Western Balkans R&I Information Hub – powered by POLICY ANSWERS (Horizon Europe project, grant agreement: 10105887). https://westernbalkans-infohub.eu
5. European Commission – Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD). https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/index_en
6. CORDIS – Horizon Europe. INITIATE: Supporting European R&I Through Stakeholder Collaboration and Institutional Reform (Project ID: 101136775). https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101136775
7. INITIATE Project Website. https://initiateproject.eu
8. ESEIA. ESEIA Impact through INITIATE Horizon Project – Strengthening Europe’s Clean Energy Knowledge Ecosystems (January 2026). https://eseia.eu/news/eseia-impact-through-initiate-horizon-project-strengthening-europes-clean-energy-knowledge-ecosystems/