The COVID-19 pandemic hit the six Western Balkans1(WB6) amidst a reacceleration of economic activity and promising economic outlook for 2020 (EC, 2020[1])2. With the rapid spreading of the coronavirus in the Western Balkans, governments introduced measures to protect their fragile health systems by purchasing medical equipment and medicine, converting medical centres to specialised COVID-19 centres and concert and sport arenas to temporary field hospitals, increasing the salaries of medical staff, and changing the work hours to safeguard the medical staff. In addition, governments responded with lockdowns and partial shutdowns in the second half of March, resulting in the closure of airports and borders, educational institutions, restaurants and shops, bans on large gatherings, restrictions on domestic travel, and the instatement of curfews. These containment measures and external shock are expected to result in a notable contraction across the region. The Western Balkan economies are particularly affected through several channels

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