1. Economic Integration in the Western Balkans
Peter Sanfey, Deputy Director, Country Economics and Policy, EBRD
15 May, 2018

2. Economic integration lags behind in the Western Balkans
EBRD transition quality scores for integration in the Western Balkans are well below those in the EU.
Source: EBRD.
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3. The new Regional Economic Area may help the region become more integrated
Four areas of focus:
Trade
Investment
Mobility
Digital
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4. Trade: focus on removing non-tariff barriers
Time and cost to trade are still excessive
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2018 Report.
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5. Investment: boost FDI through a better business environment
FDI stock per capita (EUR)
Source: Authors’ calculations based on UNCTAD database.
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6. Mobility: focus on skills improvements
Share of young people with access to training and finance to start and grow business
Source: Authors’ calculations based on Gallup World Poll ( ).
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7. Digital: accelerate high-speed broadband roll-out
Broadband access (subscriptions per 100 people)
Source: The Global Competitiveness Index
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8. But long-term prosperity requires reforms across other areas too
Governance: problems with public and private governance are pervasive throughout the region
Financial sector: need for deeper financial integration and more diversified sources of funding
Infrastructure: huge need for improved transport and energy links, but sources of finance are limited
Green: tackle high carbon intensity and strengthen resilience to the problems of global warming and climate change
[For further discussion, see Peter Sanfey and Jakov Milatovic, “The Western Balkans in transition: diagnosing the constraints on the path to a sustainable market economy”, available at: balkans.html.]
10 November, 2018