The FINANCIAL — Western Balkan countries hoping to join the EU in the medium term still have a number of obstacles to overcome, such as the economic crisis, corruption and the need to guarantee media freedom.
On 10 March MEPs debate annual reports outlining the progress of Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia towards EU accession and the integration of Kosovo. Check out our infocharts for economic and social data on current and potential candidate countries from the region, according to EU.
The charts include data on six current and potential candidates from the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The EU has opened negotiations with two of them – Montenegro and Serbia – while the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania have been officially granted candidate status.
The figures show that high unemployment is a common concern in the region as is corruption and the lack of media freedom. However, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro get relatively good scores in terms of favourable business environment.
The data on population, gross domestic product, unemployment and exports to and imports from the EU come from Eurostat; corruption perceptions is an index developed by Transparency International; the Reporters Without Borders organisation provides the index on press freedom, and the World Bank ranks countries in terms of how business friendly they are.
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