Given the region’s strong #solar potential and seasonal #wind complementarities with the continental north, it could greatly benefit from investments in renewables — especially in light of ongoing electricity market #coupling plans.
The promotion of #gas isn’t limited to #EU member states — it’s visible in the EU #neighborhood too.
North Macedonia has reduced its coal-based electricity production, replacing it largely with gas (left), while investing heavily in new infrastructure projects (right).
Final accession decisions could remain subject to unanimity, but the earlier phases – which already bring economic gains and closer institutional alignment for both the EU and candidate countries – should be shielded from unilateral #vetoes.
One potential way forward would be to move to qualified majority voting for certain intermediate stages of the process – for instance, granting #candidate status, opening #accession negotiations and advancing #reform clusters.
I explained that all 27 EU member states must agree before a country becomes a candidate, opens accession talks, or is finally admitted as a member. This #unanimity has already proven a costly obstacle for North Macedonia, Ukraine and Moldova.
Last week I gave an interview to #Bulgaria #CapitalWeekly on the obstacles of an enlarged EU (market). www.capital.bg/politika_i_i...
Read more on investment potential in the energy sectors of the Western Balkans in this study www.bruegel.org/working-pape...
"Onshore #wind expansion, despite being more costly in terms of infrastructure, has expanded more in
the region than solar. Despite generally lower
mean wind speeds in the Western Balkans, their temporal patterns complement those of #Northern
European wind regimes."
In this very study, we highlight the need for more #FDI to the energy sector of the #WesternBalkans that holds untapped potential in renewables. Only southernmost EU member states, like #Malta, #Cyprus, #Portugal, #Greece and #Spain hold higher solar energy potential than this region in Europe
The Turkish Energy sector is being very attractive for EU #FDI.
In this study, we draw attention of policymakers and investors to #WesternBalkan energy sector that is rich in #renewable potentials that remain highly untapped.
![Figure shows authors’ calculations based on data from country-specific age-specific fertility rates available from the Human Fertility Database (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research [Germany] and Vienna Institute of Demography [Austria]. It shows that rising childlessness across recent cohorts of women.
Low fertility rates in high-income countries defy traditional explanations based on a quality/quantity trade-off in the demand for children and the opportunity cost of women’s time. Analysing fertility in Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the US, this column argues that fertility decisions also depend on the range of socially accepted lifestyle and consumption options and on norms surrounding work, parenting, gender roles, and leisure. Reversing the low-fertility trend will require significant societal changes that make parenthood more compatible with modern adult life.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:m4aseqqn3qbqs2h4o75cbovw/bafkreieg4rzar4wqv7d2s2nuxns6thphinv7dx57ypkkkbhl4mbm7jjz3q)
Figure shows authors’ calculations based on data from country-specific age-specific fertility rates available from the Human Fertility Database (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research [Germany] and Vienna Institute of Demography [Austria]. It shows that rising childlessness across recent cohorts of women. Low fertility rates in high-income countries defy traditional explanations based on a quality/quantity trade-off in the demand for children and the opportunity cost of women’s time. Analysing fertility in Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the US, this column argues that fertility decisions also depend on the range of socially accepted lifestyle and consumption options and on norms surrounding work, parenting, gender roles, and leisure. Reversing the low-fertility trend will require significant societal changes that make parenthood more compatible with modern adult life.
@econmsk.bsky.social & Phillip Levine argue fertility decisions depend on a range of lifestyle and consumption options and on norms. Reversing the low-fertility trend will require significant societal changes to make parenthood more compatible w/ modern adult life.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
#EconSky
Lots of great questions on EU enlargement from brilliant students! With minds like these, the future of Europe is in great hands!
We focused in particular on the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU ahead of completing reforms as part of the #peacetalks, and on where #frontrunners Montenegro and Albania currently stand in terms of their accession prospects.
I spoke about how the war in #Ukraine made enlargement more geopolitical than ever; how access to the EU #singlemarket is now possible ahead of accession; but also about obstacles such as the #veto power.
Last week, I had the pleasure of taking part in the panel "Europe from Rearmament to Renewal: Growth and Enlargement in an Age of Rupture" at the
@lse-ei.bsky.social student annual retreat at Cumberland Lodge.
Lots of great questions on EU enlargement from brilliant students! With minds like these, the future of Europe is in great hands.
We focused in particular on the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU ahead of completing reforms as part of the #peacetalks, and on where #frontrunners Montenegro and Albania currently stand in terms of their accession prospects.
I spoke about how the war in #Ukraine made enlargement more geopolitical than ever; how access to the EU #singlemarket is now possible ahead of accession; but also about obstacles such as the #veto power.
We explain that the construction can take a decade, and Bosnia and Herzegovina might be better placed to reduce reliance on Russian gas through the #electrification of domestic heating and clean #districtheating.
However, in our Bruegel - Improving economic policy study, we show that BH's dependence on gas is only 3%, a very limited share compared to the EU, where gas contributes one-fifth to the primary energy supply. www.bruegel.org/working-pape...
Guardian states: “This is an important project with the potential to strengthen BH’s energy security and reduce regional dependence on #Russian #gas" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
@theguardian.com wrote an article about the US investments in building the Southern Gas Interconnection pipeline in #Bosnia&Herzegovina, worth $200mln!
www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo..., with a small delay, I found that #WendyCarlin was appointed #Dame Commander for Services to Economics.
She was my #UCL thesis supervisor. I never dropped my research love for FDI spillovers to emerging markets, a topic she guided me into. Congrats, Wendy and UCL!
📊 Chart of the week: Electricity generation mix in the Western Balkans, 2014 and 2024
🔥 How will the Western Balkans reduce its dependence on Russian fossil-fuels, and what can the EU do to help?
🖋️ @nina-vujanovic.bsky.social, Rouven Stubbe & Maria Catarina Louro
🔗 buff.ly/j0gtqAS
#EconSky
⚡ The Western Balkan energy sector: between Russia, the European Union and the green transition
How will the Western Balkans reduce dependence on Russian fossil-fuels, and what can the EU do to help?
🖋️ @nina-vujanovic.bsky.social, Rouven Stubbe & Maria Catarina Louro
🔗 buff.ly/T3yyrI1
#EconSky
"Venezuela points to that common army being needed not only for Europe to protect itself but also to defend its neighbourhood, as others defend theirs. If Europe fails to act decisively, Russia will fill the vacuum across Eastern Europe and the Balkans"
Great piece and - warning - by Garcia Herrero
#Bruegel2025Wrapped
🚛 Intra-Western Balkans dynamics: stocktaking and ways ahead
🪴 How will Western Balkans states act to promote regional growth?
📑 Read the Working Paper by @steinbacharmin.bsky.social, @nina-vujanovic.bsky.social and Anna Fiore
🔗 buff.ly/wIEm6d3
#EconSky
Read our paper on this timely topic www.bruegel.org/working-pape...
🌍#MarketCoupling would also increase the region's #price competitiveness and allow higher #export performance, while avoiding #CBAM.
