Energy Diplomacy in the Western Balkans

Abstract

The Western Balkans is facing a critical juncture in its energy landscape as it navigates multiple historical developments and geopolitical struggles. The European integration process, which entered a new stage in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, has put energy at the forefront of the accession process. The push towards renewable energy sources over the past decade has failed to make a significant impact in the Western Balkans, leaving the region with an aging energy infrastructure and in need of an energy revolution. In this context, energy diplomacy is taking centre stage, rubbing against long-established structural and geopolitical path dependencies. The newly found integration impetus, corroborated with the newly embedded energy conditionality in the European Union acquis, has the potential to mobilize the necessary material and immaterial resources for the region to successfully manage transition towards a sustainable energy mix while moving away from its dependency on Russian energy. This paper explores the three-pronged process driven by geopolitical, diplomatic, and material factors that is reshaping the energy landscape of the region.