Economic Security
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Think Tank
Europe Aligned with Iran Sanctions Long Before D-Day
8 September 2026
9 September 2026
Ageing demographics are now a binding constraint on growth, public finance and EU convergence for the region. Demographic resilience should become part of the enlargement agenda.
Editorial note: As the debate over the fate of the Western Balkans’ EU accession is gaining traction this week, a Montenegrin economist Jovo Rabrenović looks at it from an economic security perspective, drawing lessons from CEE countries like Poland. Dr. Rabrenović is the president of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Economic Sciences in Montenegro.
The Western Balkans’ demographic debate is usually counted in departures: young adults boarding planes, doctors leaving hospitals and graduates building careers elsewhere. But the harder economic question is not simply how many people leave, but whether the region can raise productivity and sustain its public systems before its demographics turn decisively against it.