The process of accession to the European Union (EU) has practically stalled since Croatia’s entry in 2013. The Western Balkan countries have lost the opportunity to benefit from the advantages that the EU accession process brings—advantages clearly visible in the countries that joined the EU between 2004 and 2013.
The analysis showed that Serbia is a regional leader, meaning that it lags the least behind the EU average compared to its neighbours. However, it remains far from the group of EU countries in terms of living standards. In the area of economic parameters that most influence living standards, Serbia would need 35 years to reach the EU average, while it performs best in digitalisation, where it is above the EU average and leads by four years.
The First Results of the Analysis converge2eu were presented
The Institute for Development and Innovation in Belgrade held a conference on November 7, 2025, to present the first results of the analysis on the convergence of Serbia and Western Balkans countries in the region towards the EU. The conference was opened by Miodrag Milosavljević, Deputy Director of the Foundation Open Society – Western Balkans. Following the opening remarks, Branimir Jovanović, an expert from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), presented the methodology for calculating convergence towards the EU and emphasised the importance of viewing research data as a tool for public policy development.
For the first time, Nenad Jevtović, Director of the Institute for Development and Innovation, presented and analysed the data on Serbia’s convergence towards the EU. Over the past year, the Institute has been conducting this analysis in cooperation with the project coordinators – wiiw and Think Europe from Ljubljana – as well as regional partners.
A special review focusing on the comparative analysis of Serbia and North Macedonia was presented by Viktor Mitevski, Executive Director of the Association for Research and Analysis ZMAI from Skopje, who shared the Macedonian experience in the EU accession process.
Evidence-based advocacy
The goal of the Institute for Development and Innovation, together with the coordinators and regional partners, is to establish a comprehensive research and advocacy framework for monitoring socio-economic development indicators in Serbia in relation to those in the EU through the implementation of the “converge2eu” project.
A special emphasis is placed on evidence-based advocacy, primarily due to the lack of comparable data on convergence – one of the key conclusions of the Western Balkans leaders’ meeting held in Tirana in 2023 within the Berlin Process.
This initiative responds to the need for a precise framework that policymakers from the Western Balkans have been calling for since 2023, as well as for an independent and impartial approach.
