EU and Western Balkan officials have signed a joint declaration to expand research and innovation collaboration, strengthening the region’s push toward bloc membership.
The agreement emerged from a ministerial gathering in Brussels focused on how scientific cooperation can speed up integration. Research and innovation now serve as a practical bridge for candidate countries before formal accession, according to officials.
Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva said the declaration opens a new chapter in EU-Western Balkans ties. She emphasized that concrete measures will follow to boost research quality and support local innovation networks. The platform brings together the EU executive, six regional partners, member states, and the broader scientific community.
Discussions at the meeting centered on two priorities: improving research career paths and developing innovation ecosystems. Zaharieva also handed out a special award to young innovators from the region.
The six Western Balkans partners covered by the initiative include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called the research partnership an excellent example of gradual integration. She noted both sides already benefit before full membership takes effect.
The event marked two decades since the Steering Platform on Research and Innovation first launched in 2006. Since then, it has helped foster trust and supported the six partners’ participation in successive EU research funding programs.
The collaboration has already delivered measurable outcomes. Western Balkan partners have pulled in roughly €237 million from Horizon Europe across more than 1,000 projects involving the region.
A new joint Action Plan between the EU and the six partners will follow the declaration. Meanwhile, the Horizon Europe program continues to provide the main funding channel for cross-border research initiatives.
