Regional report – Towards regional circular supply chains: Knowledge exchange from Visegrad countries (V4) to Western Balkans (WB)

The project “Towards Regional Circular Supply Chains: Knowledge exchange from V4 to WB” aims at supporting circular practices in the Western Balkans (WB) countries by using the experience from the Visegrad group (V4) – a regional format of cooperation between four Central European countries: Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. The project serves as a starting point for cross-regional exchange of know-how in the area of circular economy and exploring potential support needed to different stakeholders, policy makers, SMEs, and other in improving the circular transitions in the countries and regions. The initiative began by mapping the state of circular economy in both regions and gathering sector-specific information about the main obstacles to implementing the circular economy principles in the WB countries which are official candidates or countries in accession negotiations for becoming EU member states. This report tries to capture the regional context of the independent national analyses conducted in all partner countries identifying the local contexts, needs, barriers, challenges, and opportunities for exchange of experience and circular economy implementation.