This year, the Subnational B-READY series covers 66 cities across six EU Member States (Czechia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Spain), spanning 64 NUTS2 regions. The primary objective of the Subnational B-READY studies is to identify and address regional disparities in regulatory...

NATO enlargement and Russian annexation of Crimea marked crucial turning points. According to one narrative, the Russian occupation was part of a plan to re-establish dominion over Eastern Europe. According to a rival view, it was an attempt to counter a U.S. plan to subjugate Russia. I...

EU enlargement rounds have always been driven by political will of the parties concerned and administered through a comprehensive legal-bureaucratic procedure. There is strong political determination to carry on the accession process involving Western Balkan countries as well as Ukraine, Georgia...

Understanding the structural change in catching-up regions and the spatial distribution of economic sectors is essential for designing comprehensive policy strategies to promote balanced economic development. This study examines the economic restructuring of the 11 central and eastern European...

On 4 July 2024, colleagues from the Legal Services of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the EFTA Surveillance Authority, the Single Resolution Board and the Court of Justice of the European Union gathered together for the seminar entitled '20...

We investigate the broad economic impact of accession in the case of 13 countries who joined the European Union starting with 2004, by comparing them with both EU and non-EU countries. Using 25 years of data, we document significant post-accession improvements in productivity and/or GDP per...

The EU is at a critical turning point for its competitiveness, decarbonisation and energy security. High energy costs put Europe at a real risk of deindustrialisation and threaten our economic growth. They are hurting our citizens, with energy poverty affecting more than 46 million Europeans....

The EU is at a critical turning point for its competitiveness, decarbonisation and energy security. High energy costs put Europe at a real risk of deindustrialisation and threaten our economic growth. They are hurting our citizens, with energy poverty affecting more than 46 million Europeans....

This study identifies the minimum economic and institutional conditions that candidate countries must meet to ensure macroeconomic stability, sustainable growth, and effective integration into the EU, under a politically accelerated enlargement process. In the area of external accounts,...

We use heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences (DiD) methods to evaluate the impact of membership in the European Union (EU) Single Market on international trade. On the policy front, we provide evidence that: (i) On average, the EU has been very effective in promoting trade among its...

On 4 July 2024, colleagues from the Legal Services of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the EFTA Surveillance Authority, the Single Resolution Board and the Court of Justice of the European Union gathered together for the seminar entitled '20...

This report describes the bioeconomy policy developments in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine, associated to the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. The work extends the geographic coverage of the...

Cedefop's work on qualifications frameworks dates back to 2003. The Centre has contributed to the conceptual development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and has supported its further implementation, working alongside with the of national authorities and stakeholders to introduce...

This Special Eurobarometer 564 report is a comprehensive study commissioned by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) and conducted between February and March 2025. This report delves into various aspects of EU enlargement, providing...

Local and regional authorities are increasingly recognised as crucial actors in the enlargement process, and the European Green Deal recognises their vital contribution to achieving the EU's climate objectives. The Green Deal policy areas have become central elements of the accession process,...

This Special Eurobarometer 564 report is a comprehensive study commissioned by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) and conducted between February and March 2025. This report delves into various aspects of EU enlargement, providing...

Cedefop's work on qualifications frameworks dates back to 2003. The Centre has contributed to the conceptual development of the European qualifications framework (EQF) and has supported its further implementation, working alongside with the of national authorities and stakeholders to introduce...

In an era marked by repeated crises and the growing traction of populist movements, understanding the deep-rooted factors shaping EU cohesion has become increasingly urgent. This paper investigates how lifetime exposure to economic recessions influences individual attitudes toward the European...

This FIW policy brief explores the negative effects of EU digital regulations on Western Balkan countries. It assesses how these countries have adapted to existing global data regulation models and explores potential avenues for boosting trade through the EU granting data adequacy status, aiming...

This paper investigates the theoretical feasibility and implications of Canadian accession to the European Union (EU), a scenario that challenges conventional geographic and political boundaries of EU enlargement. Prompted by recent shifts in global geopolitics and Canadian public opinion, the...

We provide new evidence on the effects of adopting a common European currency on banks' profitability in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. We construct a panel of 1033 bank-year observations across 11 countries between 2006 and 2020. Our results suggest that the effect of the eurozone...

This paper explores the role of export-oriented firms in shaping regional economic development, with a focus on their operational footprint, strategic orientation, and interaction with institutional and infrastructural environments. Set within the broader context of regional competitiveness and...

Cedefop's work on qualifications frameworks dates back to 2003. The Centre has contributed to the conceptual development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and has supported its further implementation, working alongside with the of national authorities and stakeholders to introduce...

For this Flash Eurobarometer, a representative sample of citizens, aged 15 and over, in four selected enlargement countries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) was interviewed. Between 13 January and 2 February 2025, 3 539 interviews were conducted over the telephone (landline and...

For this Flash Eurobarometer, a representative sample of citizens, aged 15 and over, in four selected enlargement countries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) was interviewed. Between 13 January and 2 February 2025, 3 539 interviews were conducted over the telephone (landline and...

The global geopolitical planes have shifted with the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza. These geopolitical shifts have revealed how intimately connected democracy is to geopolitics, and how vulnerable are nascent and transitional democratic societies to external...

Transnational Access (TNA) to Research Infrastructures (RI) is the core activity of Horizon Europe (HE) SERV projects, and a large fraction of EU funding under the HE Research Infrastructures Programme is expected to support the latter. With 23 SERV projects now underway, it was time to gather...

The Western Balkans' annual economic growth slowed markedly in the first quarter of 2025. The region's real GDP growth moderated to 2.3% y-o-y in Q1-2025 from 3.3% in the preceding quarter. All economies recorded lower growth than in the previous three months, with Serbia, the largest economy in...

Corruption is a multi-sector phenomenon, present both in the public and private sector, and in the political arena. While corruption can take the form of petty crime or complex high-level corruption, it can also hide behind favouritism and nepotism, conflicts of interest and revolving doors -...

This Eurobarometer survey, first conducted in 2013, and repeated in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024, is designed to explore the level of corruption perceived and experienced by businesses employing one or more persons in the following six key sectors: energy, mining, oil and gas, chemicals;...

We analyze the determinants of industrial energy demand in five new European Union member states (Czechia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia) with a focus on the effects of energy prices, sectoral output, energy-saving investment, and technological progress. Using a panel dataset covering...

This paper analyzes the economic growth trajectories of post-communist countries that emerged following the collapse of the USSR. I treat the Soviet Union's sudden dissolution as a natural experiment that triggered rapid institutional changes, providing a unique opportunity to iso- late...

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked the start of a prolonged confrontation between Moscow and Europe - one that is fundamentally reshaping the parameters of European security. The return of Donald Trump to the White House and his stated intent to quickly end the war in Ukraine and put...

The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU promotes not only a common market but also economic, social and territorial cohesion and access to public services, including cross-border regions. Despite the objective of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU to promote, inter alia, cohesion in...

Western Balkan countries aim to intensify their path toward the European Union as an opportunity to ensure peace, economic growth, and institutional sustainability. Apart from the regional challenges, the EU integration process of the WB is affected by different geopolitical challenges, such as...

Seit dem EU-Beitritt der ehemals sozialistischen Länder im östlichen Teil Europas und dem Auslaufen der darüber hinaus noch geltenden Einschränkungen bei der Freizügigkeit ist von dort eine sehr starke Zuwanderung nach Deutschland erfolgt. So ist die Anzahl der Personen mit...

This report presents the results of the tenth round of the external quality assessment (EQA-10) scheme for Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) typing in EU/EEA and EU enlargement countries, organised for national public health reference laboratories (NPHRLs) providing data to the Food- and...

Institutional decentralisation is crucial for the health of democratic societies, as it cultivates effective local leadership and enables the resolution of local issues by empowering decision-makers at the level closest to the citizen. This study provides an overview of the institutional...

EU enlargement has stalled since the last member joined over ten years ago, marking the longest period without expansion since 1973. This elapsed time contrasts with the potential income gains membership promises. Drawing on the biggest EU enlargement in 2004 and employing a synthetic...

The European Parliament played a fundamental role in reshaping the political landscape of central and eastern Europe during and after the end of the Cold War, setting out an agenda for European enlargement and substantiating European integration. Amid an atmosphere that signalled the triumph of...