Austria has tried hard to meet the expectations of her partners in the Western Balkan countries related to the Austrian EU Council Presidency. This also applies to the fields of education, science and research.
After extensive preparations, a number of meetings, conferences and workshops took place in the first half of 2006 which altogether brought along at least two memorable and hopefully sustainable actions:
Ministers from Western Balkan nations met in Vienna over the past months to agree upon an Education Pact with the EU. As of 2007, countries of the Western Balkan will be able to participate as equal partners in the EU’s Life-long Learning Programme.
As to research, the European Commission and the Austrian EU Council Presidency jointly launched a Steering Platform for strengthening research cooperation between the Western Balkan countries and the EU within the framework of the European Research Area (ERA).
Moreover Minister Gehrer forwarded a joint letter to the European Commission signed by the Ministers of Education and Research of the pre-accession countries which stressed the importance of giving education and research sufficient priority in the IPA.
Well tailored activities in the fields of education and research will certainly contribute to supporting the Western Balkan Countries’ integration into the even wider European Knowledge Area and to unlocking the potential of this region.

Article published in eJournal summer 06.