The annual MEF Energy Forum successfully concluded this year, continuing its tradition of bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators to discuss the region’s energy and industrial transformation.
Elson Solutions’ CEO, Olimpija Hristova Zaevska, participated actively, sharing her insights during the high-level policy roundtable marking 10 years since the Paris Agreement, and as a panelist at Panel 4: Toward a Common Industrial Horizon – Western Balkans & EU Clean Industrial Deal.
Key takeaways
- Governments must translate EU regulations affecting the private sector timely.
- WB6 countries are classified as emerging innovators by the European Innovation Scoreboard. Aggressive innovation funding supported by dedicated and well-managed labs is critical to catch up and compete globally.
- Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal channels significant resources into innovation and decarbonization, including an Industrial Decarbonisation Bank. Western Balkan countries must engage and support their private sector to tap into these opportunities.
- No global innovation leader, including the US, achieved success without a strong industrial policy (read Mazzucato’s Entrepreneurial State). It’s time for the WB6 to increase and optimize innovation funding
