Deputy President of the NSI Participated in a Presentation of the Preliminary findings of the Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2026

Svilen Kolev, PhD, Deputy President of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), participated in a meeting presenting the preliminary results of the Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2026, held on June 5 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania in Bucharest.

The event was organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) within the framework of its Regional Programme for Southeast Europe. It brought together representatives of national statistical institutes, ministries of economy and European affairs from the Western Balkan countries, as well as representatives of the administrations of Bulgaria and Romania, which currently serve as partner countries supporting the initiative. During the meeting, participants presented and discussed preliminary results and analyses regarding the progress of the region’s economies across six key areas related to the process of economic convergence with the European Union and the OECD: infrastructure and connectivity, skills, business environment, digital transformation, greening, and macro-financial stability.

As part of the session entitled “Building the evidence base for EU convergence: lessons from Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession experience,” Svilen Kolev, PhD presented Bulgaria’s experience in implementing European statistical standards, developing digital platforms for data access, and promoting international cooperation in support of evidence-based policymaking. He also highlighted the challenges associated with the effective use of statistical data in the policymaking process, including the need for better coordination among institutions, the further development of administrative registers, and the enhancement of statistical literacy. Svilen Kolev, PhD emphasized the importance of public trust in official statistics and the role of the NSI in providing reliable, objective, and comparable data to support sustainable socio-economic development.

The Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans is an OECD tool for an annual monitoring and assessment of the progress made by countries in the region toward economic convergence with European Union and OECD standards. It supports the identification of areas requiring targeted reforms and serves as an important instrument for tracking the implementation of reform agendas under the European Commission’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.