Assessing National Sustainability Transitions in Europe: A Dynamic MCDA and Clustering‐Based Approach

ABSTRACT The study evaluates the sustainable development of 42 European countries using a multi‐criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, based on 29 indicators covering the economic, social, and environmental pillars. All three pillars are assessed both individually and in consolidated form to provide a comprehensive view of countries' sustainability performance. To track individual countries' progress over time, MCDA analysis based on indicator gradients is applied. Sustainability performance for 2030, the target year for most global sustainability goals, is estimated using the Fractional Discrete Grey Model (FDGM (1,1)). Based on MCDA scores from 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2030, countries are grouped into high, medium, and low sustainable development clusters. Results indicate that Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway consistently achieve the highest scores but show slower progress, whereas North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina rank lowest. The proposed methodology provides a solid basis for defining regional strategies and guiding national policies by highlighting both shared and country‐specific sustainability challenges.