Geopolitical greenery: How decarbonisation can speed the Western Balkans towards the EU
The EU should provide extra support to Western Balkan countries to boost the green transition—and ease future integration into the bloc
Experts & Staff
Lea Fanku
ECFR Alumni · Visiting Fellow
Areas of expertise
Enlargement policy, EU foreign policy towards Western Balkans, accession negotiations processes, and the EU Green Deal
Languages
Albanian, English, French
Biography
Lea Fanku was a visiting fellow with the Wider Europe programme at ECFR, contributing to the “Green Agenda for the Western Balkans” project. Fanku is an expert on EU-Western Balkan relations and has previously conducted research on the European Union’s enlargement policy with a focus on the region. Since 2022, she has analysed the coverage of the accession negotiations processes between Albania and the European Commission, closely following the chapters related to the green agenda (including energy, environment, and sustainable transport). Prior to this, Fanku worked as a researcher in Tirana for several major EU funded projects directed towards the improvement of the rule of law, democratic institutions, and public administration reforms in Albania.
Fanku holds a MSc in European interdisciplinary studies from the College of Europe and a BA in political science and international relations from the American University in Bulgaria.
Cultivating enlargement: How a green win in the European Parliament election could help the Western Balkans
The EU’s green agenda is threatened by a predicted surge to the far-right in the upcoming European Parliament election. Against this, mainstream candidates should remind voters that climate policy is not only necessary for decarbonisation, but an essential tool for EU enlargement
Green enlargement: How the EU’s growth plan for the Western Balkans can promote climate action
The European Commission’s new support package for the Western Balkans could incentivise the reforms necessary both for EU membership and the green transition. But promoting climate action as a priority in the region will be far from straightforward