This paper aims to identify the current state and development of research infrastructures in the
Western Balkan region in order to increase the general understanding of the Western Balkan's current
research capabilities to conduct state of the art research projects
. Considering that global research
infrastructures are becoming increasingly complex and expensive, participation in large pan
-European
research infrastructures is considered as important condition to improve national research capabilities and
to foster research mobility. When it comes to the participation in pan
-European research infrastructures,
WB economies are lagging significantly behind EU member states, participating only in a few top research
infrastructures. To successfully integrate into the European Research Area, Western Balkan economies need
to invest more efforts in recognising research infrastructures as strategically important for future economic
development
