Institutions
Public and donor-funded delivery
Study document requirements, expert coordination, budgets and approvals. Test whether an AI workflow preserves the applicable rules and sources.
Regional research
The Western Balkans.
Part of the AI question.
A practical regional agenda grounded in institutional delivery, local context and public evidence. Start with what organisations need to accomplish, then test the conditions under which AI helps.
The initial regional scope is Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Country comparisons must preserve differences in definitions, reporting years and data availability.
Language
Context that survives translation
Evaluate Macedonian, Serbian and other regional-language workflows using reviewed task material. Fluency in a generated paragraph is not evidence of correct institutional interpretation.
People
Build the team’s ability to continue
Measure whether staff can review outputs, update context and handle exceptions after the initial implementation.
Research design
Publish missingness with the comparison
A missing country value is not zero adoption. Identify the population, year and source before drawing a regional conclusion.
Primary sources
The evidence
we start from.
Eurostat
One in five EU enterprises reported using AI in 2025
The official enterprise survey records wider adoption. It does not tell us whether an AI workflow is reliable or how much useful work it completes.
European Commission
North Macedonia and Serbia connect to the AI Factory network
The Commission announced AI Factory Antennas in both countries. This creates a concrete regional research agenda around access, skills and the ability of local organisations to use shared infrastructure.
European Commission
VEZILKA and SAIFA are listed in Europe’s AI Factory ecosystem
The official directory names VEZILKA in North Macedonia and SAIFA in Serbia. The directory provides a starting point for tracking regional institutions and access routes.
European Commission
Digital Europe creates a regional route to participation
Association agreements connected four Western Balkan countries to Digital Europe funding opportunities. Eligibility must still be checked against each current call.
European Commission Joint Research Centre
AI uptake is spreading across Europe’s strategic sectors
A new JRC analysis follows adoption across sectors using Eurostat enterprise data. Sector differences make a single generic adoption story inadequate.