Reaching climate neutrality by 2050, as is set out by the European Commission’s strategic long-term vision, requires timely decarbonisation of the European energy sector, including a phase-out of coal. This will particularly affect regions, which are depending on the coal sector and other high-carbon industries, as they will have to transit to low-carbon economies in the coming decades. In many of the Balkan countries, coal is a central part of the energy mix. While none of the countries has set a phase-out date for coal, some have already started preparing the transition away from coal.