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Competitiveness Outlook - Meetings

 

 

 Western Balkans Competitiveness Outlook 2024: Preliminary Regional Findings Meeting

 

The OECD hosted the Competitiveness Outlook 2024 Regional Preliminary Findings Meeting at the OECD Istanbul Center in Istanbul (Türkiye) on 13 December 2024.

Following the launch of the fourth Western Balkans Competitiveness Outlook assessment cycle in April, the regional preliminary findings meeting provided a platform for the OECD to present and discuss the initial regional assessment findings, including policy recommendations, with key stakeholders.

The meeting brought together a wide range of participants, including the Co-ordinators of the OECD’s work (Competitiveness Outlook, SME Policy Index, Circular Economy), Statistical Office representatives, and Economic Reform Programme (ERP) and Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) Co-ordinators from the six Western Balkan economies. Representatives from the European Commission and regional organisations (RCC, CEFTA) also attended meeting. Policy makers from a wide range of institutions across the six Western Balkan economies also participated virtually.

The meeting was opened by Ms. Marzena Kisielewska, Head of OECD South East Europe Division, Ms. Sandrine Beauchamp, Policy Officer, Private Sector and Green Economy, Thematic Support – Economic Development, European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) and Mr. Alexandros Mouzakitis, Economic Analyst, Unit for Candidate and Pre-candidate Countries, European Commission Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN). The opening remarks emphasised how the Competitiveness Outlook’s analysis and recommendations significantly contribute to the region’s EU integration efforts, bringing economies closer to both EU and OECD policies and good practices.

The OECD recapped main milestones already achieved during this fourth Competitiveness Outlook cycle and outlined the upcoming key steps before the release of the Competitiveness Outlook 2024 reports and new interactive data platform. It also showed how the Competitiveness Outlook assessment contributes to measure the Western Balkans’ economic convergence with the EU and the OECD.

The OECD then presented and exchanged with participants on its preliminary regional assessment findings and policy recommendations for each of the Competitiveness Outlook’s 5 thematic clusters: (1) Business environment, (2) Greening; (3) Digitalisation and technology; (4) Skills system; (5) Connectivity and infrastructure. The meeting also provided an opportunity to gather feedback from participants on how the Competitiveness Outlook assessment process can be further improved, particularly the collection of quantitative data in co-ordination with statistical offices.

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Competitiveness Outlook 2024 Fact-finding Meetings

The OECD is organising a series of fact-finding meetings in the Western Balkans between July and October 2023.

The meetings have two main objectives: (1) closing information gaps in the Competitiveness Outlook government self-assessment and (2) jointly identifying together main policy achievements, challenges, and priorities.


In each economy, the meetings bring together the OECD team and representatives of the European Commission with a wide range of participants from the government and non-government sectors. Participants from the latter include the network of policy makers and statistical offices who have completed the Competitiveness Outlook self-assessment, as well as NGO, private-sector, and academia representatives.


Based on a first review of the inputs received during the data collection phase, the OECD prioritises one thematic focus area for each meeting among the Competitiveness Outlook’s five policy clusters: (1) Business environment, (2) Greening; (3) Digitalisation and technology; (4) Skills system; (5) Connectivity and infrastructure.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Sarajevo, 27 October 2023

 

 

Mostar, 26 October 2023 

 

Banja Luka, 24 October 2023 

 

Pristina, 12 October 2023

SEE_CO2024_Pristina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Skopje, 10 October 2023

 Competitiveness Outlook 2023 fact finding meeting in Skopje

 

Tirana, 28 September 2023

 Competitiveness Outlook 2023 fact finding meeting in Albania

 

Montenegro, 6 July 2023

 Montengero fact finding meeting 7 July 2023

 

 

Competitiveness Outlook 2024 Asssessment Kick-off Meeting 

 

 

 

The OECD hosted the Competitiveness Outlook 2024 assessment kick-off meeting at the OECD premises in Paris on 27 April 2023. The meeting gathered the Competitiveness Outlook Co-ordinators, National Statistics Office representatives, Economic Reform Programme (ERP) and Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) co-ordinators from all six Western Balkan economies, as well as representatives from the European Commission and regional organisations (RCC, CEFTA).

Drawing on key OECD tools and standards, the Competitiveness Outlook publication series is a comprehensive assessment of economic performance in the six Western Balkan economies across key policy areas that are interrelated and make up a holistic structural reform agenda needed to foster competitiveness and socio-economic development. It seeks to provide the region’s policy makers with a benchmarking tool, enabling them to compare performance against OECD and EU good practices and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations.

The meeting was opened by Ambassador László Turóczy, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the OECD and UNESCO, Mr. Andreas Schaal, OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Director, and Mr. Mathieu Bousquet, Acting Director at European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR). The opening remarks reiterated the importance of the subsequent Competitiveness Outlook assessments in supporting the Western Balkan governments to advance economic reform agendas and reinforce their EU integration efforts.

The participants were then introduced to the Competitiveness Outlook’s fourth assessment cycle process and timeline, as well as its unique methodology. In particular, an overview of the qualitative and quantitative indicators was provided, shedding light on how each of the 15 policy dimensions will be assessed. The assessment will have an added lens of the greening and digitalisation, looking at horizontal policies to facilitate this twin transition. For the first time, the final reports, scheduled to be released in summer 2024, will also be complemented by a new interactive data platform, allowing users to compare progress over time and across economies.

Following the presentation on the general features of the new assessment cycle, the OECD South East Europe team held a series of bilateral meetings with the Competitiveness Outlook Co-ordinators and Statistical Office representatives from each economy to familiarise them with their roles and responsibilities and to discuss next steps.

 

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Virtual road show to launch the Competitiveness Outlook 2021

The OECD flagship publication, Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook 2021, was launched virtually across the six Western Balkan economies throughout September and October 2021. In total, more than 450 participants from ministries, government agencies, embassies, academia, civil society and the private sector attended the meetings.

The OECD presented the economy-specific findings and recommendations for each of the 16 policy dimensions and zoomed in on one priority topic for each economy to discuss specific challenges and possible policy responses based on international best practices.

Senior representatives from the European Commission acknowledged that the Outlook provides a necessary and useful evidence base for the region’s reform agenda and high-level policy makers from the Western Balkan governments committed to translating the Outlook’s recommendations into their strategic action plans.

 

    • Montenegro, 21 September 2021 - Agenda
    • North Macedonia, 24 September 2021 - Agenda
    • Kosovo*, 28 September 2021 - Agenda
    • Serbia, 08 October 2021 - Agenda
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 October 2021 - Agenda
    • Albania, 18 October 2021 – Agenda 

 

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SEE road show to launch the Competitiveness Outlook 2018


Following the High-level Conference in Paris in April 2018, the OECD publication, Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook 2018 will also be launched in the region throughout July, September and October 2018. The meetings are usually opened by a Minister and the Head of the EU Delegation and are followed by a detailed presentation by the OECD Secretariat, displaying the regional and economy-specific results of the publication. The launch meetings will conclude with Question & Answer sessions with key stakeholders, including line ministries, government agencies, and representatives from academia, civil society and the private sector.

      • Skopje, 11-12 June 2018 - Agenda
      • Tirana, 13 June 2018 - Agenda
      • Pristina, 11 September 2018 - Agenda
      • Belgrade, 25 September 2018 - Agenda
      • Sarajevo, 09 October 2018 - Agenda
      • Podgorica, 16 October 2018 - Agenda

 

High-Level Conference: A New Reform Agenda for a more Competitive South East Europe
24 April 2018, Paris

Competitiveness Outlook 2018 cover

The OECD SEE High-Level Conference 2018 was held to support SEE economies in shaping a new reform agenda which strengthens economic competitiveness across four pillars: business environment, skills and capacity, economic structure and governance with a total of 17 policy areas. The conference served as a high-level forum for SEE economies to exchange experiences and good practices in using OECD tools and analysis in their policy reform processes. To enrich this discussion and reinforce this process, the Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook 2018 publication was launched.

Opening speeches were given by OECD Secretary-General, Mr Angel Gurría, DG NEAR Deputy Director General, Ms Katarína Mathernová of the European Commission, Deputy Prime Minister of Romania, Ms Ana Birchall, Minister of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ms Liliana Pavlova and Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Mr Michael Linhart.

The key-note speakers were Mr Ivan Mikloš, President of MESA10 and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Slovak Republic and Mr Peter Pogačar, State Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Slovenia.

 

 

 

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Competitiveness Outlook Week, 3-5 July 2017, Paris

The meeting served as a forum to discuss the OECD’s draft analysis and regional-level policy recommendations for each of the 17 policy areas of the Competitiveness Outlook assessment. In addition, it has enabled participants to learn about OECD tools and good practices for selected key policy recommendations. Participants included Competitiveness Outlook Coordinators, Ministry representatives and directors of statistical offices from each of the six partner economies, as well as representatives from several Directorate Generals of the European Commission, the Regional Cooperation Council, South East European Embassies in France, and various OECD Directorates. The meeting has paved the way for the drafting of the OECD flagship publication Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook 2018, which will be published in April 2018.



CO Reconciliation Meetings, 28 March - 15 May 2017CO Reconciliation meetings 2017

The reconciliation phase of the project was implemented between 28 March and 15 May 2017 with the aim of meeting government and non-governmental stakeholders across South East Europe to fill remaining information gaps within the Competitiveness Outlook assessment and to align on differences between the government self-assessment the independent assessment. The OECD team met with more than 1,000 stakeholders across the six partner economies of South East Europe and held approximately 150 in-depth meetings across the 17 policy dimensions. As a next step, the government and the independent assessments will be reconciled into a single assessment which is the basis for analysing and drafting the Competitiveness Outlook publication.


Second Co-ordination Meeting and Training  Seminar of the SEE Competitiveness Outlook 2018 Cycle‌, 7-8 March 2017, Paris, France 

SEE/CO 08.02.2017The event brought together around 25 representatives from six South East European governments and partner organisations (European Commission, Eurostat, Regional Coordination Council) to prepare governments for the reconciliation and analysis phase of the project. In particular the reconciliation meetings were discussed and planned. These will take place throughout March, April and May in the region’s capitals.

First Co-ordination meeting for the SEE Competitiveness Outlook 2018 Cycle, 3-4 October, 2016 Paris, France

The event brought together around 30 representatives from six South East European governments and partner organisations (European Commission, Eurostat, Regional Coordination Council)  to kick-start the second Competitiveness Outlook cycle which will lead to the 2018 flagship publication. Meeting participants discussed the project design and prepared the assessment phase launched in October and November across the region's capital cities.


SEE in-country road show to launch the Competitiveness Outlook 2016

In addition to the high-level conference in Paris in February 2016, the Competitiveness Outlook 2016 publication was also launched in the capitals of each of the six beneficiary economies during March and April 2016. The meetings were usually opened at deputy Prime Minister or ministerial level of the host economy and were followed by a detailed presentation by the OECD Secretariat, displaying the regional and economy-specific results of the publication. The launch meetings were concluded by question and answer sessions with key stakeholders, including line ministries, government agencies, and representatives from academia, civil society and the private sector.

      • Sarajevo, 13 April 2016
      • Belgrade, 12 April 2016 
      • Podgorica, 7 April 2016
      • Tirana, 6 April 2016
      • Prishtina, 16 March 2016
      • Skopje, 15 March 2016 

Competitiveness for Growth in South East Europe26 February 2016, Paris, France

SEE/CO 26.02.2016
This event built on the work of the OECD South East Europe Regional Programme and created an opportunity to further strengthen the relations between the countries of the region and the OECD and support a broader, high-level debate on factors of competitiveness for growth in the region.

The event was structured around:

 

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99 and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

 

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