Yes, says The Clingendael Institute: "The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans represents a promising window of opportunity for the region to catalyse decarbonisation, as well as further integration with the EU and democratisation processes."
Supporting the region towards energy transition may create opportunities for closer cooperation between governments, companies and civil society. The Green Agenda has the potential to spur the functional integration of the region through sectoral cooperation.
Here are five recommendations that the Clingendael Institute proposes to the EU institutions:
Continue supporting the alignment of Western Balkan policies with the EU Climate Law and include the Western Balkans in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Scale up the technical assistance to the Western Balkan partners to carry out fundamental reforms, starting with the public administration
Provide a strong political steer in line with the EU's revised enlargement methodology
Avoid corrosive effects of EU funds for climate and energy reforms by strictly imposing requirements on transparency, public tendering, and audits
Ensure the inclusiveness of the energy transition by involving society at large
Check out the policy brief here: