According to Serbian Economist, the American conservative organization CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), which has close ties to the U.S. Republican Party and President Donald Trump’s political circle, will hold the first CPAC Balkans conference in Belgrade from November 18 to 21, 2026. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will be the keynote speaker at the event.
This will be the first time the conference is held in Southeast Europe, and it will bring together conservative politicians, representatives of civil society organizations, experts, and supporters of right-wing political movements from the Balkan states. The organizers intend to discuss issues of national sovereignty, economic policy, free enterprise, traditional values, and international cooperation.
One of the central themes will be energy security in the Balkan region. According to CPAC, increased supplies of American energy resources could help diversify energy imports and reduce the Balkan states’ dependence on individual suppliers.
The organizers view the United States as a potential partner for countries in the region in ensuring energy independence. Discussion of this issue is of particular importance for Serbia, which continues to diversify its natural gas supply sources and develop energy cooperation with foreign partners.
CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp stated that the organization welcomes the holding of the first Balkan conference in Serbia. He highlighted the role of Aleksandar Vučić in developing strategic cooperation between Belgrade and Washington and expressed satisfaction with his upcoming speech.
According to Schlapp, conservative political movements have achieved significant success in North and South America, as well as in Japan. The organizers expect that hosting CPAC Balkans will help expand the international networks of European conservative organizations.
CPAC has already held international conferences in Hungary, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The Belgrade meeting will mark the next step in expanding the organization’s international network.
The choice of Serbia as the conference venue reflects the desire of American conservative circles to expand their political presence in the Balkans and strengthen ties with the leadership of countries in the region.
The names of the remaining participants and the detailed conference program have not yet been published. The organizers promise to release them in the coming weeks.
CPAC is not a U.S. government agency or an official body of the Republican Party, although its events are traditionally attended by leading figures from the American political right, including Donald Trump.
The global copper industry will need approximately $332 billion in new investment in mining projects by 2050 to prevent a large-scale shortage of the metal, which could reach 20 million tonnes per year, or 44% of projected demand. This is stated in the Transition Metals Outlook 2026 study by analytical company BloombergNEF (BNEF), published on October 20, 2026.
According to the forecast, the global copper market could face a deficit as early as 2028, as the expansion of mining capacity lags behind consumption growth. The main drivers of increasing demand will be the electrification of transport, modernization of power grids, industrial development, and infrastructure construction.
BNEF analysts expect global copper consumption to increase by 61% by 2050 compared with 2026, reaching almost 46 million tonnes.
At the same time, demand for copper associated with the electrification of the economy will grow by 89%, to 23.3 million tonnes. Thus, these areas will account for more than half of global metal consumption.
Electric transportation will become the fastest-growing segment. Copper use in electric cars, electric trucks, buses, and related infrastructure will increase by 244%, reaching 11.4 million tonnes by the middle of the century.
Copper is essential for the production of electric motors, inverters, batteries, high-voltage wiring, and charging stations. In addition, the metal is widely used in construction, industrial equipment, electrical grids, and consumer electronics.
According to BloombergNEF estimates, existing global copper ore reserves are sufficient to meet long-term needs, but the problem lies in the insufficient pace of developing new deposits and expanding existing operations.
The average period from the start of project development to the commissioning of a new copper mine is approximately 17 years. As a result, even with the necessary $332 billion in investment, the metal shortage could persist until at least 2043.
Additional challenges arise from declining copper grades in mined ore, rising production costs, and insufficient funding for geological exploration in previous years.
Without new capital investment, global copper supply could decline by 14.5%, from 30 million tonnes in 2026 to 25.7 million tonnes in 2050. The development of copper scrap recycling will partially offset the decline in primary production but will not be able to completely eliminate the projected shortage.
Chile, according to BloombergNEF’s forecast, will retain its status as the largest producer of primary copper. However, production in the country could decline from 5.8 million tonnes in 2026 to 4.8 million tonnes in 2050.
Despite the decline in absolute production volumes, Chile’s share of global primary copper production could increase from 24% to 28%, as reductions in other countries will be more significant.
Analysts warn that a prolonged copper shortage could lead to higher global prices and increased costs for energy equipment, electric transportation, and infrastructure projects. In certain segments, manufacturers may be forced to make greater use of alternative materials.
Martin Tengler, head of metals and mining research at BloombergNEF, noted that the situation regarding the supply of raw materials to the global economy has changed significantly compared with previous forecasts.
According to him, the development of new production capacity and improvements in battery technologies have reduced the risks of shortages of most energy transition metals. However, the main challenge is becoming ensuring the availability of the necessary materials in specific regions and at the required times.
At the same time, copper remains the main exception to the overall trend of improving forecasts.
According to Transition Metals Outlook 2026, nine of the ten metals and materials studied could potentially have sufficient production capacity by 2050, provided investment continues and depleted reserves are replaced.
In particular, global lithium consumption is expected to nearly triple, from 1.6 million to 4.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, while demand for graphite will more than double, from 3.3 million to 6.9 million tonnes.
At the same time, the increasing adoption of lithium iron phosphate batteries is reducing the expected need for nickel and cobalt compared with previous forecasts.
China continues to dominate the processing of energy transition metals. According to BloombergNEF, for eight of the ten materials studied, more than half of global processing capacity is concentrated in a single country, and for seven of these materials, that country is China.
The Experts Club analytical center has produced a video overview of the world’s largest copper-producing countries and a comparison of copper production from 1971 to 2025.
In the first nine months of 2026, Ukraine connected 1.9 GW of new power capacity, which represents more than 80% of the annual target, according to Viktor Mykyta, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“As of now, we have reached 1.9 GW of connected capacity. This is more than 80% of the annual target,” Mykyta wrote on his Telegram channel following a meeting with the heads of regional military administrations.
According to him, the meeting focused primarily on local efforts to increase connected capacity and strengthen the regions’ energy resilience. Communities are working to develop a decentralized power generation system with the participation of businesses and investors.
Specifically, during the period in question, more than 620 MW of wind power capacity, more than 520 MW of cogeneration capacity, as well as more than 460 MW of solar power capacity and more than 270 MW of solar power capacity from private households were connected to the grid.
“People continue to install off-grid power systems for their homes, and this trend remains strong. We thank the heads of regional state administrations, communities, businesses, and others for their work in each individual region, which is so important for the country,” the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office stated on Friday.
DECENTRALIZATION, ENERGY, POWER GENERATION, RENEWABLE ENERGY, UKRAINE
According to Serbian Economist, the Serbian government has approved a shareholders’ agreement between the state-owned companies Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), Srbijagas, and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR.
The new joint venture will be responsible for financing, constructing, and operating a gas-fired power plant in Niš.
The government’s decision on this matter was published in the official gazette, “Službeni Glasnik.”
The plant’s planned capacity is up to 500 MW. The facility will use combined heat and power (CHP) technology.
This approach allows for more efficient use of natural gas, as the heat generated during electricity production is also used for heating or other utility needs.
The project will mark a continuation of energy cooperation between Serbia and Azerbaijan. SOCAR is Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company and participates in international projects involving the extraction, transportation, and supply of energy resources.
The establishment of the joint venture paves the way for further preparation of the investment project; however, construction has not yet begun, and the final cost of the power plant has not been announced.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3902
On October 15, 2026, the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEEX) held its first exchange auction for the sale of domestically produced natural gas for export, the exchange reported on its website.
“Ukrainian gas producers offered four lots totaling 135,706 MWh of natural gas, with delivery dates (gas days) ranging from October 26 to December 31, 2026,” the statement said.
As a result of the auction, 100% of the offered volume of natural gas was sold at a weighted average price of 69.01 EUR/MWh, excluding VAT.
Under the established mechanism, from March 1 to November 30, gas producers may sell up to 15% of the natural gas volume they delivered at entry points to Ukraine’s gas transmission system during the previous month for export purposes on a monthly basis.
Only non-resident companies may act as buyers at these specialized trading sessions.
As previously reported, in order to preserve domestic gas production and prevent its decline due to excess reserves, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a decision on the temporary, controlled export of Ukrainian gas during the period from March 1 to November 30.
Under the decision, private gas production companies were granted the right to export up to 15% of their own monthly production. Proceeds from exports will be used to protect gas production enterprises from Russian attacks and to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
As explained by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, given the current gas balance projections for 2026–2027, the implementation of this decision will not affect the ability to meet domestic market demand during the fall and winter months.
Currently, Ukraine’s underground storage facilities hold nearly 15.8 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 2.6 billion cubic meters above the minimum level and 1.2 billion cubic meters above the target forecast for natural gas.
Exports will take place from March 1 to November 30 of each calendar year. Natural gas exports will not take place from December 1 through February 28.
The decision also provides for mechanisms to promptly suspend exports in the event of a threat of a natural gas shortage or a crisis situation in the domestic market.
In 2026, Gas Distribution Networks of Ukraine LLC connected 140 distributed generation facilities, with plans to connect another 86 by the end of the year, according to Lyudmila Kinder, the company’s chairwoman.
“Distributed gas generation is currently one of the areas where demand for grid connection is growing particularly rapidly. This year, 140 such facilities have already been completed, and another 86 are scheduled for completion. Each project involves an assessment of the grid’s capacity, design, construction, connection, and gas commissioning,” she wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
Kinder also noted that connecting businesses to the grid should be a “straightforward process,” which is what “Gazmereti” is currently working on.
“If a company has several facilities in different regions, it should not have to coordinate separately with each branch every time. We need to see the entire project portfolio and agree in advance on technical requirements, the workflow, and the order of implementation,” Kinder said, outlining her vision for building effective cooperation with businesses.
As previously reported, according to First Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine already has 1.8 GW of distributed gas-fired generation in operation.
