European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Bongiardo, D., Chiaramello, D., Dara, A., Cortinovis, R. et al., Atlas of migration 2024, Bongiardo, D.(editor), Dara, A.(editor), Crespi, I.(editor) and Sofos, I.(editor), Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The Atlas of Migration is more than just a publication—it is a testament to the power of data and rigorous analysis in illuminating the multifaceted nature of migratory movements. The 2024 edition of the Atlas continues to serve as a vital tool for policymakers, researchers and the public at large, offering a wealth of data to cut through the confusion and misinformation that often surrounds the discourse on migration. The Atlas provides the latest harmonised and validated data on migration for the 27 EU Member States and for 171 countries and territories around the world. It brings together data from many reliable sources, such as Eurostat, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, the World Bank and many others. This year’s thematic chapter of the Atlas delves into the nuanced motivations behind migration, moving beyond simplified narratives in favour of a more comprehensive view that acknowledges the diverse and often overlapping reasons that propel individuals to move.

European Commission: Eurostat, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

The Factsheets of Basic figures on Western Balkans and Turkey presents series of basic statistical data for five candidate countries and two potential candidates and compares them with EU data. The candidate countries, at the time of writing, were: Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey, while the potential candidates were Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. With data up to and including the year 2021, this publication presents indicators from various domains such as demography, education, labour market, inflation, trade, GDP, energy, etc.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, I. Chopin and C. Germaine, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

More than 20 years ago, a major and unprecedented development occurred in the European Union with the adoption in 2000 of two pieces of EU legislation in the field of anti-discrimination: the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) and the Employment Equality Directive (2000/78/EC). The transposition and implementation of these legal provisions into the national legal systems of the 27 Member States is described in a series of annually updated country reports produced by the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination. In addition, the network also includes candidate countries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye) and the EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), as well as the United Kingdom, which exited the EU on 31 January 2020.

In order to address the diversity of country and territory codes and names used in the EU institutions, the European Commission has developed a corporate code list of countries and territories that covers the different use cases its services have.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and Krstic, I., Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and Krstic, I., Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

The Republic of Serbia is a constitutional multi-party parliamentary democracy. The multi-party National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was established in 1991. The 12th legislature commenced its work on 3 August 2020 and is notable for the fact that the ruling party – the Serbian Progressive Party – has a supermajority of seats in the Parliament (due to a boycott by several opposition parties), which shapes and influences current parliamentary work in Serbia.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

In early 2022, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey submitted their eighth annual Economic Reform Programmes covering the period 2022-2024 (1). The programmes were assessed by the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Based on these assessments, joint conclusions with country-specific policy guidance (2) were agreed and adopted at the Economic and Financial Dialogue between the EU and the Western Balkans and Turkey, held on 24 May 2022. This paper contains the Commission staff’s assessments of the ERPs for 2022-2024, preceded by a horizontal overview summarising the key findings from a cross-country perspective, and taking stock of the implementation of the country-specific policy guidance adopted in 2021. The cut-off date for the assessments was 8 April 2022.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The growth performance of the Western Balkan region improved in the third quarter of 2023. On average, the region’s real GDP growth accelerated to 3.1% y-o-y from 2% in the second quarter as all economies except Montenegro recorded a higher pace of expansion than in the previous three months. GDP growth accelerated the most in Serbia, the largest economy of the region, where it rose to 3.6% y-o-y from 1.6% in the second quarter.

European Institute for Gender Equality and Babovic, M., Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

Introducing the Gender Equality Index in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) represents a breakthrough in monitoring gender equality in the region for several reasons. It grounds the monitoring of gender equality and provides a powerful policymaking tool that enables achievements to be measured across main policy areas. It allows for initial comparisons to be made within the region of the Western Balkans and with the EU, stimulating exchanges and fostering motivation to apply more effective policy solutions and speed up processes that lead to greater gender equality.

European Commission: Eurostat, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

The factsheets of Labour market statistics on candidate countries and potential candidates presents series of statistical data on different aspects of the labour market for ten candidate countries and potential candidates and compares them with EU data. The candidate countries at the time of writing are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.

European University Institute and Milutinovic, I., Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a research tool that is designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union and in Candidate Countries. This narrative report has been produced on the basis of the implementation of the MPM that was carried out in 2023.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

In this Institutional Paper the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs brings together into a single document the economic chapters of the European Commission's country reports for the ten enlargement countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

Serbia is working on a host of promising research and innovation projects as part of its European path. Regional cooperation and collaboration amongst researchers to further build capacity in R&I is part of the process. The Western Balkans are gaining momentum in research, technological development and innovation.