October 30, 2025
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Von der Leyen: EU is guarantee that Serbian families will be warm in winter

The European Union is connecting Serbia to its energy market, and it is the true guarantee that Serbian families will be safe and warm in winter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Belgrade. She expressed preparedness to invest further in the country’s gas interconnector with Bulgaria.

In her speech during the visit to Serbia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen didn’t address the looming energy crisis caused by the sanctions that the United States imposed on Russian-owned oil company NIS. Moreover, she demanded greater alignment with the EU foreign policy from President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, including on sanctions against Russia.

“The EU membership offer is an opportunity. It is the promise of peace. Of prosperity. And of solidarity. Especially in times of crisis. You have seen this in practice,” she stated and pointed to the energy crisis of 2022.

EU showed equal solidarity with Western Balkans

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU introduced the same measures of solidarity to its Western Balkan partners as to its own member states, Von der Leyen stressed. “This is what it means to be a reliable partner. You can continue to count on us. We are connecting Serbia to the EU’s energy market. This is the true guarantee that Serbian families will be safe and warm in winter,” she stated.

The head of the 27-member bloc’s executive body pointed to ongoing investments like the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor. The mostly completed route stretches from Romania to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and its MONITA undersea link with Italy.

Von der Leyen: Collective market power to secure better energy prices

Von der Leyen highlighted the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector as well. The pipeline was completed almost two years ago. “We are prepared to invest further in it. We also invited Serbia to join the EU’s joint gas procurement mechanism. Together we are using our collective market power to secure better energy prices,” she said.

The administration in Brussels introduced the AggregateEU platform for joint procurement of gas in 2023. It expired earlier this year, but the EU is preparing another mechanism.

Serbia is planning an oil interconnector with Hungary and gas links with Romania and North Macedonia. Vučić said the upcoming winter would not be an easy one for Serbia.

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July 2, 2025
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Clean energy, grid upgrade projects in Western Balkans to be backed under EU’s Growth Plan

The European Commission has proposed the first support package, of EUR 87.7 million, under the European Union’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, to help implement EUR 487.3 million worth of hydropower, solar district heating, and grid modernization projects in Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia. The package was announced following a high-level meeting between European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Western Balkan partners in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje.

The package, funded from the EUR 6 billion Reform and Growth Facility (RGF), set up under the Growth Plan, will be rolled out through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). The proposal was made to the WBIF Operational Board, according to a press release from the commission.

The eight proposed projects include building a new generation unit and upgrading existing ones at Serbia’s Potpeć hydropower plant, which would increase its annual production to 236 GWh while reducing CO2 emissions. The investment is valued at EUR 72.1 million, with the RGF support amounting to EUR 15.8 million. The project is targeted for completion in 2030, according to the commission’s fact sheet.

Serbia could get support for introducing solar energy in district heating

The other project in Serbia is the construction of a 31 MW solar-thermal plant and 17 MW heat pump in Novi Sad, which will introduce renewable energy sources to the district heating system. The project would cost a total of EUR 114.3 million, with the RGF support at EUR 25 million. The targeted completion date is 2028.

In Montenegro, the package would support three projects. The first is an EUR 18.3 million investment in building a 38-kilometer 110kV overhead transmission line between Vilusi and Herceg Novi, aimed at increasing transmission capacity and reducing energy losses. It would receive EUR 3.1 million from the RGF.

The EU plans to back Montenegro’s SCADA roll-out

The second project in Montenegro is the introduction of SCADA in the power distribution system, estimated at EUR 26.5 million, with the proposed RGF support of EUR 5 million. The third one is a planned upgrade of the Brezna substation on the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor. The EUR 35.6 million investment would be backed with EUR 6.3 million from the RGF.

Albania plans to digitalize its transmission network in EUR 64.2 million project

The support package also includes Albania’s EUR 95.3 million investment in upgrading the Fierza hydropower plant, aimed at increasing its capacity by 10% and extending its lifespan by at least 30 years. The support from the RGF would amount to EUR 10.5 million. The other project to be supported in Albania is the EUR 64.2 million digitalization of the transmission network, which would receive 13.6 million from the RGF.

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June 11, 2025
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Serbia’s EMS starts construction of third section of Trans-Balkan Corridor

The foundation stone was laid today in Serbia for the third section of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor. The investment amounts to EUR 100 million. It entails a high-voltage overhead power line of 109 kilometers between Obrenovac and Bajina Bašta, equipping two new switchyards in the Obrenovac transformer substation and upgrading the Bajina Bašta substation to 400 kV. The fourth and last section, with the interconnections with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, is planned to be completed in 2028.

Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the third section of the Trans-Balkan Corridor that it is the most important project for the transmission system not only in the country but in Southeastern Europe.

“What highways are for transportation, high-voltage power lines are for energy, and today we are beginning the works on the new part of the most important energy highway,” she said in Obrenovac and added that the segment would enhance the security of supply for consumers in western Serbia.

The third section of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor involves the construction of an overhead power line of 109 kilometers on 309 towers, equipping two new switchyards in the Obrenovac substation and lifting the voltage level in the Bajina Bašta substation to 400 kV.

The project is financed with a EUR 64.5 million loan from Germany’s KfW Development Bank, a grant from the European Union via its Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) of approximately EUR 21 million, and own funds of the Serbian transmission system operator Elektromreža Srbije (EMS), according to the state-owned company’s announcement. The third section is worth EUR 100 million, of which EUR 71 million is for the overhead power line.

“With the completion of the entire project, we will additionally strengthen the links with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and beyond, with Italy,” Đedović Handanović stated.

She recalled that significant transmission grid investments are planned in the next five years, including the construction of the Pannonian Corridor toward neighboring Hungary. The priority projects in the segment are worth EUR 500 million in total, the minister revealed.

“I expect the contractors not to be late with the works, so that the project is completed within two and a half years, as it is planned,” Đedović Handanović stressed.

Matejić: Final section to be finished in 2028

General Manager of EMS Jelena Matejić said the construction of the entire Trans-Balkan Corridor is worth more than EUR 200 million. She noted that it includes 323 kilometers of 400 kV power lines, voltage level upgrades for two transformer stations and switchyards in three of them.

The investments in the Trans-Balkan Corridor are estimated at more than EUR 200 million altogether

“Except this section, the third one, we will also have the fourth, for which the funds have been secured, and it will be finished in 2028,” Matejević asserted.

The old lines in western Serbia of 220 kV will be replaced with new, 400 kV systems, which will create possibilities for connecting the planned Bistrica pumped storage hydropower plant to the grid, according to EMS. The contractor is Kodar Energomontaža, and the works are expected to be completed by 2027.

EU donated EUR 38.3 million for Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor

Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia Emanuele Giaufret pointed out that the funds the EU has earmarked for the current section are part of wider support.

“The EU has secured a EUR 38.3 million donation for the whole Trans-Balkan Corridor, together with KfW’s favorable loans. Over the years, the EU has earmarked more than EUR 1 billion for the energy sector in Serbia. This project is important for the rest of Europe as well, because it will contribute to the creation of a wider, integrated system, which will enable a more stable supply to consumers on the entire continent, as well as to avoid problems in the future,” he stated, as quoted by EMS.

The first section of the Trans-Balkan Corridor, from the city of Pančevo near Belgrade to the Romanian border, was finished in 2017. The second one, between Kragujevac and Kraljevo in central Serbia, is operational since 2022. It included substation upgrades in the two cities. The fourth section needs to connect Bajina Bašta with nearby Višegrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with Pljevlja in Montenegro.

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April 21, 2025
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Minister Admir Šahmanović formally assumes energy, mining portfolio in Montenegro

Prime Minister of Milojko Spajić has merged two ministries, so Minister of Mining, Oil and Gas and Coordinator of the Ministry of Energy Admir Šahmanović took the helm at the joint energy and mining portfolio. Among his primary responsibilities are the completion of the domestic part of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, the installation of the second line of the Monita submarine interconnector with Italy and power market coupling with the European Union.

The Parliament of Montenegro elected Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović. He led the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas in  since July. As Minister of Energy Saša Mujović was elected mayor of the capital Podgorica, Šahmanović recently took over as coordinator,

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić now formally merged the two ministries again. “If we complete the Trans-Balkan Corridor – only a few kilometers are left, the second line of the underwater cable toward Italy, Montenegro is becoming the cooperation bridge between the Balkans and the EU,” he said in the national assembly, promoting Šahmanović.

The list of priority energy infrastructure, adopted in December, also includes the Komarnica and Kruševo hydropower projects, the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), a subsidy scheme for rooftop solar power plants, energy efficiency measures and a floating solar power unit.

The Trans-Balkans Electricity Corridor is a project for upgrading transmission systems in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The proposed lines run from Romania to the Monita subsea interconnector with Italy.

Admir Šahmanović will participate in the first panel discussion within Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025), organized by Balkan Green Energy News. The two-day conference in Serbia, starting on May 14, is the central meeting point for representatives of regional and international institutions, organizations and the business community from the region, Europe, and beyond.

Minister has master’s degree in financial management

The minister said earlier this month that current photovoltaic and wind power projects would boost Montenegro’s electricity capacity fivefold, to 5 GW. Admir Šahmanović, born in 1985, has a master’s degree in financial management. He is in the leadership of the Bosniak Party.

Early in his career, he worked in PricewaterhouseCoopers in both Montenegro in Serbia, in Montenegro’s ministries of sustainable development and tourism and public administration, and the British Council in Podgorica. The current minister has experience in managing funds received from the European Union.

Šahmanović entered energy policy sphere in 2022

Three years ago, Šahmanović was named state secretary in the Ministry of Capital Investments, which included the energy portfolio. He participated in the negotiations on the EU accession and on obtaining loans from international financial institutions.

According to his official biography, the minister has promoted sustainable energy and transportation and environmental protection and worked on the country’s strategic documents and action plans.

Additionally, Šahmanović has managed EU-funded projects for wastewater purification and green energy.

Last month he oversaw the adoption of the new Law on Energy.

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