The Aspen Institute Germany, in cooperation with Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, hosted a high-level conference “Structural Change in the Western Balkans” in Tirana from October 27–30, 2025. The event addressed major regional challenges driven by digitalization, energy transition, and evolving transportation technologies. Structural changes pose unique challenges for the Western Balkans, particularly in labor markets, skill development, and social cohesion. Key forces behind these changes include technology, demographics, climate change, migration, competition, and geopolitical shifts.
One of the sessions, “Climate and Energy,” addressed structural change in the fields of climate and energy in the Western Balkans, with expert input from IRMO’s Ana-Maria Boromisa, PhD, the Head of the Department for International Economic and Political Relations.
The aim of the conference was to bring together leaders from the Western Balkans, Germany, the EU, the U.S., and international organizations to discuss strategies for managing this transformation, as part of the “Western Balkans Initiative: Engagement for Progress and Stability” supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.
