The Energy Community Ministerial Council held its annual informal meeting in Athens, where the organization was founded twenty years ago. No contracting party is expected to meet the criteria for exemption from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the electricity sector – the European Union is due to start charging the CO2 tax on January 1 – but the European Commission could propose amendments.

The Energy Community promotes integration, reforms and investments across the region, top officials stressed.

Ministers from the Energy Community contracting parties convened today at the Informal Ministerial Council in Athens to mark the organization’s 20th anniversary. The Energy Community Treaty, establishing the Energy Community, was also signed in the Greek capital. The purpose of the organization is to create a more integrated market, help attract investment and speed up decarbonization by aligning with the European Union’s rules on energy, environment and competitiveness.

In recent years, close cooperation has enabled the contracting parties to strengthen the security of supply, particularly against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, the Energy Community Secretariat said. During the annual gathering, hosted by the Greek Ministry of the Environment and Energy, the ministers underlined the need for an accelerated integration with the EU, grounded in delivering a secure, resilient energy transition.

Ministers agreed to revise capacity calculation regions

Many contracting parties are close to completing the reforms needed to launch the 18-month countdown to electricity market coupling – including full legal alignment under the Energy Community’s Electricity Integration Package and the appointment of nominated electricity market operators (NEMOs). If transposition is verified as compliant by the European Commission and the Energy Community Secretariat, integration will be initiated with the EU’s Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC) and Single Intraday Market Coupling (SIDC).

Ministers made a breakthrough in regional coordination, backing a proposal by EU transmission system operators to revise capacity calculation regions (CCRs), now under review by the EU energy regulator ACER – Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. Recognizing the proposal’s importance for an effective operation of the interconnected grid, they called for swift follow-up, including the operationalization of regional coordination centers (RCCs) and system operation regions (SORs).

The aim is to boost electricity flows and grid security, especially along the north-south corridor of the Balkans, while laying the groundwork for full EU market coupling.

Decarbonization must accelerate ahead of CBAM implementation in 2026

To avoid disruptions to regional electricity trade, clarifying CBAM rules for electricity is a priority for the ministers, the secretariat pointed out. The EU is set to begin charging the carbon border tax on January 1.

Lorkowski: Electricity market integration and decarbonisation are two sides of the same coin

As no contracting party is expected to meet the exemption criteria by then, a proportionate and context-sensitive application of the mechanism is essential, as supported by active engagement in the European Commission’s ongoing call for evidence that precedes the future amendments of the CBAM regulation to be possibly proposed by the European Commission, in the secretariat’s view.

“Electricity market integration and decarbonisation are two sides of the same coin. The green energy transition unlocks meaningful integration with the EU market – and vice versa. Only by aligning policy, infrastructure, and pricing can contracting parties fully realise the benefits of clean, secure, and affordable energy,” said Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski.

The ministers called for carbon revenues to support vulnerable communities and mobilize investment in clean energy, stressing that just transition financing must go hand in hand with policy reforms.

Energy Community Treaty is now cornerstone of Europe’s energy architecture

Born out of crisis and shaped by cooperation, the Energy Community Treaty has become a cornerstone of Europe’s energy architecture, Lorkowski stressed. What began as an unlikely experiment in regional integration has grown into a dynamic framework – extending the EU’s internal energy market, strengthening energy security, and advancing the clean energy transition across South-Eastern and Eastern Europe, he asserted.

Energy Community contracting parties can fully integrate their electricity markets with the EU before joining it

“Our contracting parties are now on the cusp of a major breakthrough: full electricity market integration with the EU – even ahead of accession. This is the product of two decades of reform, dialogue, and trust-building. With the right political will, we can move from transposition to transformation,” Lorkowski stated.

In his view, Greece is the window for the Energy Community contracting parties to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market and the access point to the European electricity system. Close cooperation with the Western Balkans has economic benefits for Greece – but beyond the economy, it is also about security and stability, Lorkowski said at the event.

Energy Community pioneered extension of EU energy market

Over the past two decades, the Energy Community has brought the EU closer to its neighbours, pioneering the extension of the trade bloc’s energy market across its borders, promoting integration, reforms and investments across the region, according to European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen.

“Now it is time to look ahead at our shared future based on a greener, sustainable and resilient system which will bring cheaper energy and more security to all,” he said.

Separately, in an interview with Kathimerini, Jørgensen noted that Southeastern Europe experienced electricity price spikes last summer, mainly in the evening hours, due to a lack of cross-border capacity and sufficient flexibility. The only solution is further infrastructure and market integration, as costs are separated and benefits are multiplied, he opined.

For every EUR 2 billion invested annually in cross-border infrastructure, the potential benefits reach up to EUR 5 billion, the commissioner added.

Papastavrou: Southeastern Europe’s is at disadvantage as its electricity market is not fully integrated with EU

Southeastern Europe is still not fully integrated with the EU, which is a structural disadvantage for citizens, said Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece Stavros Papastavrou.

“I am very optimistic after the first session of the meeting, because all the contracting parties expressed commitment, a strong commitment, to market coupling,” he stated. Papastavrou said a lot of work is required in the electricity sphere to bridge the gap for the prosperity of citizens and the entire region.

Energy integration is one of the pillars of EU accession

Energy integration is not just a technical issue – it is one of the fundamental pillars of the EU accession process, the minister told his counterparts from the Energy Community.

“Greece, too, has faced the same challenges that many of you are experiencing today. Back in 2005, our energy system was almost entirely dependent on lignite, by more than 60%. Today, we have reduced lignite use by an impressive 91% – a clear demonstration of our strong commitment to a clean, sustainable, and resilient energy future,” he stated.

Serbia’s Đedović Handanović sees possibility for market coupling with Hungary already next year

Serbia was the first in the region to fulfill the conditions for market coupling with the EU, the country’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said. She urged for the verification process to be accelerated, so that Serbia can connect with the Hungarian market in 2026 and, through it, with the other EU member states.

The minister acknowledged the challenge of the upcoming full implementation of CBAM.

Serbian institutions analyzed the available options from the study that the European Commission published. “We think that carbon pricing should be introduced gradually, in phases and fairly, with support from funds from the European Union,” she said.

The minister stressed that revenues from carbon taxes would be directed, like in the EU, to decarbonization, renewables, energy efficiency, just transition and support to companies.

“Without an adequate period of time for the transition from coal to renewable energy sources, without modernizing the network, increasing RES capacities and adjusting the industry, higher carbon costs can only increase the financial pressure on our industry and consumers, which is already happening in the EU, instead of resulting in a significant emissions reduction in the short term. Solving these issues requires careful planning, a phasein and the EU’s targeted financial support, so that climate goals would be aligned with the economic reality,” Đedović Handanović said.

She recalled that EU member states had more than two decades to gradually adjust to carbon emission levies. Đedović Handanović affirmed that Serbia is willing to continue its alignment with the EU’s energy and climate policy.

“All the reform measures that we are conducting are primarily for the benefit of our citizens and companies, and we won’t make decisions overnight that would jeopardize our energy stability,” she said.