engleski

EU-SEE relationship with a focus on energy security and environmental issues ; the Balkan countries point of view.

This presentation analyses the Energy Strategy of the Energy Community and its coherence with EU energy, environment and enlargement policy goals. It discusses challenges and actions from the perspective of the Balkan countries, with specific attention to energy security and environmental issues. Coherence with EU policy goals is examined on the basis of the Energy Strategy itself, the Enlargement Strategy 2012-2013, Energy Roadmap 2050 and the Proposal for a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020. The perspectives of Balkan countries are identified based upon the positions of Energy Community member states’ governments, civil society organisations and experts, as presented in official documents and media. It is argued that parties of the Energy Community are interested in participating in the implementation of the Energy Strategy in order to meet EU conditionality and accordingly to be able to apply for EU funding, rather than as a tool for furthering regional cooperation and hence improving energy security. While the main goals of the EU and Energy Community are coherent, differences in governance structures and the examined timeframes (2050 and 2020 respectively) raise concerns about the Strategy’s capacity to effectively foster alignment. This is because of the lack of regional ownership. The Strategy is seen as a form of intervention serving the EU’s interests and the interests of international financial institutions rather than those of the countries of the region.

Energy Community; Energy Strategy; Renewables

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