Think Europe (Evropa misli) played a key role in a Vienna unveiling a new project that tracks the real convergence of Western Balkan countries with average EU living standards — covering economy, governance, education, health, digitalisation, and more.
The event opened with remarks from senior figures including Andi Dobrushi, Director at Open Society Foundations Western Balkans; Barbara Kremzar, Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Austria; and Claudia Plakolm, Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, who underlined the importance of solid data for enlargement policy in today’s geopolitical climate.
Representing Think Europe on the expert panel that followed the data presentation was Sabina Lange, who joined Richard Grieveson and Branimir Jovanovic of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), Matteo Bonomi of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), and Adnan Ćerimagić of the European Stability Initiative for a wide-ranging discussion on enlargement progress.
The panel’s shared conclusion: convergence between the Western Balkans and the EU is achievable, but requires sustained structural reforms, long-term investment, stronger governance, and better use of EU funds — both from candidate countries and the EU itself.
Think Europe continues to be a driving voice in this conversation, helping turn data into concrete policy progress across the region. The convergence dashboard is available at www.converge2.eu.