Serbia’s industrial expansion toward 2030 increasingly reflects a simple equation: export growth follows the €/MWh curve. If electricity prices remain stable and competitive, Serbia’s fabrication, electronics and machinery sectors could collectively add more than €10bn to annual exports. If electricity costs rise unpredictably or decarbonisation efforts lag, these sectors may lose momentum precisely when EU […]

For decades, Serbia—and much of Eastern Europe—relied on competitive labour costs as the primary attractor of foreign direct investment. Manufacturing firms came for affordability, engineering talent and geographic proximity. But the global industrial model has shifted. Labour cost is no longer the primary differentiator. Today, the decisive factor shaping investment flows, export competitiveness and nearshoring

Serbia’s industrial trajectory toward 2030 will be determined not by labour costs, factory automation levels or investor incentives alone, but increasingly by the cost, stability and carbon profile of electricity. As Europe restructures its entire supply chain architecture around green transition rules, CBAM obligations and resilience requirements, Serbia’s manufacturing map is being redrawn in megawatt-hours.