EU support to Competitiveness and Sustainability in the Western Balkans and Turkey - 2021 (2021-2022MCP) This Action will assist the Western Balkans and Turkey in reinforcing economic convergence and economic integration, while supporting economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will support the EU enlargement strategy by assisting the Western Balkans and Turkey on their European path, to converge towards EU policy standards, to fulfil the economic criteria, and to improve economic governance. Conversely, the Action will provide manifold evidence-based input to the annual Commission Enlargement Package and the Economic and Financial Dialogue between the EU and the Western Balkans. The Action is also designed to reinforce the regional economic integration within the Western Balkans and support the Common Regional Market initiative. Accordingly, there will be a strong regional focus spanning across the areas of support of the Action.The Action aims to address persistent structural weaknesses, which have further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They include among others:¿ low levels of competitiveness associated with low productivity and innovation outcomes¿ human capital and labour market deficiencies and high levels of emigration¿ insufficient regional trade, transport and energy connectivity¿ lack of environmental sustainability in key policy fields¿ inadequately developed digital infrastructure and insufficient digital skills¿ uneven level of processes and mechanisms for scientific evidence to provide advice to policy making¿ highly vulnerable SME sector and insufficiently integrated in European supply chains.It seeks to engage with stakeholders from the region in a highly inclusive assessment and policy design process and support the Western Balkans and Turkey in addressing these challenges by identifying root causes, providing policy options helping to overcome binding constraints tailored to the individual circumstances, prioritising and sequencing policy responses. In parallel, it will support the implementation of reforms through institutional capacity building efforts, peer learning platforms and concepts and toolkits enabling the independent design and monitoring of reform action.The assistance under this Action will be composed of the three areas of support, whereas the first two areas of support are the fundamental blocks of this Action that ensure continuation of the ongoing work with the OECD in the region. The other complementary area of support will increase the impact in the green transition.1. ¿Building Back Better¿ through the Competitiveness Outlook2. Accelerating SMEs¿ Recovery through the Small Business Act Assessment3. Supporting Green Transition through Circular Economy RoadmapsAll areas of support will contribute to the EU enlargement strategy, the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for the Western Balkans1, the European Green Deal2, the Green Agenda3 and the Innovation Agenda for the Western Balkans, and spur the long-term recovery to build more resilient and sustainable economies. It will represent a knowledge reference for the accession negotiations, the Economic Reform Programmes (ERPs), as well for the key sectorial strategies.1 COM (2020) 641 final, 6.10.20202 COM(2019) 640 final, 11.12.20193 SWD(2020)223 final, 6.10.2020