When Will the Lights Go Out in Europe?

Europe’s energy crisis is no longer a distant policy debate, it is becoming a defining constraint on industry, competitiveness, security, and everyday life.

After cutting itself off from a major source of cheap energy, Europe now faces a difficult combination of rising electricity demand, industrial pressure, geopolitical fragmentation, and slow infrastructure buildout. AI, electrification, reshoring, and defense spending are all increasing energy needs at the same time that affordable baseload supply remains uncertain.

This event is built around a deliberately provocative question: When will the lights go out in Europe?

Not as alarmism or doomsday theatre, but as a serious framework for examining Europe’s real vulnerabilities, timelines, and strategic choices.

Rather than a conventional panel discussion, the event is structured as a moderated scenario session exploring five competing pathways for Europe’s energy future:

• A — Europe reconnects with Russian energy
• B — Europe goes nuclear
• C — Renewables, storage, and grids stabilize the system
• D — Long-term dependence on US LNG
• E — Europe moves too slowly and faces structural decline

A small group of experts from energy markets, infrastructure, geopolitics, industry, and policy will be pushed toward specificity rather than abstraction.

Each participant will address:

• Their baseline diagnosis of Europe’s energy position
• Whether they see a credible “lights-out” risk — and on what timeline
• The assumptions their outlook depends on
• The single most important lever policymakers are ignoring
• One trend they believe is overhyped
• One risk they believe is underestimated

The goal is not consensus, but clarity: identifying which futures are plausible, which trade-offs Europe continues to avoid, and which decisions will shape the continent over the next decade.

• Gain a clearer understanding of Europe’s emerging energy constraints and their economic consequences
• Hear directly from experts across energy, infrastructure, geopolitics, and markets
• Explore the most credible pathways for Europe’s energy future — and the trade-offs behind each one
• Understand which risks are underestimated, which narratives are overstated, and where policy is likely heading
• Join a discussion designed around specificity, disagreement, and practical insight rather than generic talking points

📍 Venue: WeXelerate, Praterstraße 1, 1020 Vienna
🕓 Date & Time: Friday, 26 June 2026 | 17:00 – 20:00

The Vienna Institute for Global Studies (VIGS) is an independent, interdisciplinary institute based in Vienna, dedicated to addressing the complex global challenges of the 21st century. Led by Prof. Dr. Zoltan Acs, a leading economist and professor, VIGS focuses on three main areas: International Relations and Geopolitics, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, and Well-Being and Health. Through innovative research and global collaboration, VIGS bridges academia and society to shape a future where knowledge drives clarity, purpose, and positive change.

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Host or Publisher Vienna Institute for Global Studies