“Economic and Energy Security: Testing Europe’s Strategic Autonomy and Defence” Conference with Joanna Mazurkiewicz

The availability and cost of energy are becoming a growing challenge – particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. We discussed these tensions on 21 October 2025 in Brussels during the policy roundtable “Economic and Energy Security: Testing Europe’s Strategic Autonomy and Defence,” co-organised by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Institute for Strategic Research at the Military School (IRSEM).

The panel on affordability pressures highlighted, among other points, that electricity prices in Central and Eastern Europe remain higher than in Western Europe, which – as noted by Petya Barzilska (European Initiative for Energy Security) – calls for coordinated investments in grid modernisation, wind energy potential, and cross-border infrastructure to stabilise prices and reduce volatility.

Joanna Mazurkiewicz (IBS) drew on Poland’s experience, emphasizing the importance of tailored communication to different social groups in building support for the transition. Ana-Maria Niculicea (EPG) underlined that Romania has significant but underused clean-energy potential due to fragmented governance, weak public engagement, and slow implementation of support schemes, while Luka Simic (University of Zagreb) discussed Croatia’s progress on diversification through the Krk LNG terminal, noting the need for faster deployment of renewables and prosumer models to improve affordability.