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.

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...

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.

🌍 #MarketCoupling of the WB and EU electricity market should be the top priority. It will increase continental security by phasing out 🇷🇺 energy threats, allowing higher investments in WB renewables potentials, speeding the green transition and competitiveness of WB energy sector

3. Green transition in WB is behind. Though #Albania has 100% renewable electricity generation mix🌊, coal dependence is still high. Solar potential is higher in the WB than the EU. WB and EU have complementary temporal patterns of wind 🌬️, making WB energy sector - very attractive for FDI.

2. WB electricity market are highly embedded with the EU: up to 70% of electricity #flows in the region accrue to EU electricity, making the WB important electricity transit hub. WB is important electricity #exporter to the EU too. This relation will be distorted with #CBAM as of January, 2026

1. Transition away from Russia. Russian security risk in the WB region runs through ownership of #oil refineries in #Serbia and #Bosnia&Herz as well as #gas supplies. #NIS oil refinery has shutdown, upon #USsancitons while further gas supplies are under threat as Serbia seeks new investors