Building Circular Economy Capacities in Western Balkans

The transition to a Circular Economy should occur on a large, cross-border scale and calls for dynamic communication flows between stakeholders and countries. The Capacity Building Programme on Circular Economy enabled such an exchange between Western Balkan countries with the support of Circular Economy experts from different relevant fields.

After 18 months of close collaboration with Western Balkans countries, in October 2024 the project held its final webinar on the topic of food waste prevention. At the webinar, the participants explored practical insights into food waste prevention and monitoring, drawing on lessons from Croatia and other EU Member States. A lively discussion revealed a strong interest among Western Balkan representatives in learning from neighbouring countries about implementing food waste monitoring methodologies.

The programme, which was funded by the EEA Instrument for Pre-Accession, was a collaboration of the CSCP, VITO, and the European Environment Agency (EEA) to deliver a tailored Capacity Building Programme aiming to support six Western Balkan countries in their circular economy journeys.

As part of the programme multiple aspects were addressed, including stakeholder engagement for a Circular Economy, financial and non-financial Circular Economy incentives and how to monitor Circular Economy on a national and EU level.

Key takeaways from the 1.5-year project included recognition that most Western Balkan countries already have national strategies or action plans referring to Circular Economy implementation. In order to facilitate the implementation, however, future efforts should prioritise local projects to provide tangible examples and lessons for broader policymaking.

Strengthening the capacity of decision-makers and addressing public awareness gaps were also highlighted as essential, while financing emerged as a critical enabler for progress. The discussions also revealed that the set-up of Circular Economy monitoring frameworks is a priority for the Western Balkan countries and still requires deeper knowledge and expertise.

This capacity-building programme laid a foundation for greater circularity in the Western Balkans and showcased clear actions that need to be taken to ensure a successful transition from linear to circular consumption and production practices.

The project was funded by the European Environment Agency (EEA) under the framework of the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) Programme. It started in May 2023 and concluded in October 2024.

For further questions, please contact Kartika Anggraeni.