The energy crisis that arose out of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine has highlighted the need for the EU to strengthen its energy security. This has increased awareness of the alignment between European efforts to decarbonise its energy mix and to enhance energy security: renewable energy simultaneously cuts emissions and reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels. As long as the EU energy system continues to rely on imported natural gas and oil, energy supply diversification will remain a priority, and a particularly urgent one among member-states that were still highly reliant on Russian gas and oil when the war broke out. Furthermore, the energy crunch has shown that the energy union is still fragmented: electricity interconnections between markets are limited and overloaded, which leads to diverging prices across Europe and can make some regions vulnerable to energy shocks.
The crisis has, to an extent, accelerated the integration of EU neighbours and prospective members into the EU energy market, for instance hastening the synchronisation of the Ukrainian and Moldovan electricity grids with the EU’s. But the alignment of EU candidate countries with EU energy policy is progressing slowly – though with some bright spots. If participation of these countries in the energy union is to become an early milestone en route to full EU membership, policy alignment should accelerate in a number of areas. Both EU member-states and candidate countries would benefit from their early integration into the EU energy market: a larger electricity market can draw upon more energy generation assets, delivering overall lower prices, and act as an insurance policy against localised disruptions. The EU has an interest in strengthening support to its neighbours to help them progress in implementing energy transition policy. Examples of this are the EU’s targeted support for the modernisation of the energy system in the Western Balkans, for energy security in Moldova and for the reconstruction of a more sustainable and secure energy system in Ukraine.
This article outlines the key elements of the energy mix in EU candidate countries, and where they stand in terms of aligning their energy policy with that of the EU. It concludes by identifying the key requirements for a truly interconnected and decarbonised energy union in an enlarged EU.
About the Author
Elisabetta Cornago is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.