Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2026

Acknowledgements

The Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2026 is the result of work co-ordinated by the South East Europe Division of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate (GRC), with financial support from the Governments of Bulgaria and Romania. The report was prepared under the guidance of Marzena Kisielewska, Head of the OECD South East Europe, and Umur Gökçe, Economic Advisor at the OECD South East Europe.

The methodology for the Scoreboard was led by Benoît Dicharry, with contributions from Marin Slim. The principal authors were Benoît Dicharry (Frontmatter, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Skills, Business Environment, Greening and Methodology) and Marin Slim (Digital Transformation, Macro-financial Stability and Economy Profiles).

The report also benefited from input and review by William Tompson (OECD Eurasia Division) and Jose Antonio Ardavin (OECD Latin America Division), who served as lead reviewers. Special thanks also go to Francesco Alfonso, Hannah Tomczyk (OECD Eurasia Division), Marta Encinas-Martin, Diego Botero and Pablo Timón (OECD Latin America Division), Stephanie Lizzo, and Dafina Marashi (OECD South East Europe Division), all of whom provided valuable feedback throughout the drafting process.

We extend our sincere appreciation to government officials and other stakeholders who actively participated in data collection. Their engagement and commitment were essential to the development of this report. We would especially like to acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals:

 

Economy	Statistical offices	Government co-ordinators
Albania	Elona Sevrani, Alma Mara	Anxhela Bushati, Xhoana Hudra (Ministry of Economy and Innovation)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ivona Bulić	Brankica Pandurević (Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Una Morankić, Srdan Cvitejić (Directorate for European Integration)
Kosovo*	Avni Kastrati, Ilir Berisha	Jeton Karaqica, Kaltrina Paqarada (Office of the Prime Minister)
Montenegro	Majda Savićević	Marko Savković, Svetlana Stijepović (Ministry of Economic Development) and Biljana Papović (Ministry of European Affairs)
North Macedonia	Zoran Stanojkovski, Natasha Cenova	Zlatko Jankovski (Ministry of European Affairs)
Serbia	Nikica Rodin	Sanja Stojadinović, Magdalena Arsić (Ministry of Finance), Sava Mitrović, Luka Pivljanin (Ministry of European Integration)

The OECD wishes to express its gratitude to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Romania for their generous financial contribution in support of this publication.

Sincere thanks are extended to the National Coordinator of Romania’s Accession Process to the OECD, Secretary of State Luca Niculescu, as well as to the colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania – including Ms Bianca Petre, Ms Daniela Oprișan, Ms Olga Tudor, Ms Lelia Constantinescu, Ms Valeria Găvoază and Ms Alexandra Mardale – for their valuable support in organising the meeting hosted by the Romanian MFA in Bucharest on 5 June 2026. The meeting, opened by the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Oana Țoiu, provided an important opportunity for participants to discuss and agree on the preliminary findings of this report.

The report was prepared for publication by Meral Gedik. The following people also contributed to the project's success: Vukan Jokić, Linda Rubene and Valeria Pelosi.