Annual Report 2025 Highlights

In February, Alexandra Bykova, a trained economist, took over as Head of the Statistics Department. She succeeded Monika Schwarzhappel, who shaped this role for two decades and had been with wiiw since 1983. Bykova, 48, holds a PhD in Economics from Lomonosov University in Moscow and has been with wiiw since 2011.

Under the leadership of Jelena Milošević, Digital Strategy Manager, and Rafael Koncilja, Systems and Network Administrator, a comprehensive digital transformation of the institute began in March. The focus is on upgrading the IT infrastructure, enabling software-supported collaborative working, managing change and training staff.

In early March, Edeltraut Stiftinger, the new Deputy Governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), visited the institute. Discussions with wiiw’s leadership focused on the evaluation of joint projects and the further development of the close cooperation between the two institutions, which stretches back decades.

Philipp Heimberger, Head of the Macroeconomics Research Group at wiiw, analysed the implications of the reformed EU fiscal rules for fiscal space and the policy options available to national governments in EU Member States during a press briefing attended by numerous media representatives. Media coverage about the event was very positive.

In close cooperation with the City of Vienna, the traditional Spring Seminar, entitled ‘Growing Cities vs. Shrinking Countryside in Central Europe’, took place in Vienna City Hall. Prof. In his keynote, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose from the London School of Economics highlighted the link between economic underdevelopment and political radicalisation in lagging regions of Europe and called for a new approach to cohesion policy.

Amid the tariff dispute with the United States’ trading partners following US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose heavy duties on them, wiiw has been featured repeatedly in leading Austrian and international media outlets. In particular, Robert Stehrer, a trained trade economist and wiiw’s Scientific Director, has explained the implications of these measures.

In early October, wiiw, together with the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), presented the jointly developed GEOII geoeconomic index, which measures the EU’s geoeconomic influence in its neighbourhood in comparison with China, Russia, and the United States. The key findings were also published in a joint study.

At the high-profile EU-Western Balkans Investment Forum held in Tirana, the capital of Albania, wiiw Executive Director Mario Holzner spoke about the remarkable economic resilience of the six Western Balkan states and the favourable structure of foreign direct investment in the region. Among other things, Holzer noted that, following recent declines in FDI to the region, inflows could regain momentum as a result of the U-turn in German fiscal policy and recent industrial policy measures.

wiiw’s new premium membership initiative for corporate CEOs with links to Central, East and Southeast Europe is growing. In 2025, wiiw had 77 members – the highest number in over a decade. Revenue from membership rose by 85% compared with the previous year. Six events were held in Vienna, Prague and Warsaw, led by wiiw Deputy Director Richard Grieveson.

Under the auspices of wiiw, the Tobacco Taxation in Eastern Europe (TTEE) network met at the end of October to discuss the latest research findings and effective policy measures. The event’s attendees included experts from the World Bank, the OECD and the Economics for Health initiative.

Silvana Tenreyro, an economist at the London School of Economics, delivered this year’s Global Economy Lecture, which wiiw organises annually in collaboration with the Austrian National Bank (OeNB). In her lecture, Tenreyro outlined the macroeconomic impact of negative policy rates in the event of a severe recession in Europe – a topic that has been widely debated among economists.

This question was discussed by a panel of high-profile experts chaired by wiiw economist Michael Landesmann. The panel included Olga Pindyuk, wiiw’s Ukraine expert, and Branimir Jovanović, wiiw’s Western Balkans specialist, as well as Stefan Lehne, former Director for the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, and Vedran Džihić, Senior Researcher at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip).