RES Foundation is one of 78 Western Balkans civil society organisations that support the inclusion of the EU Habitats, Birds and Water Framework Directives in the Energy Community Treaty.
Energy investments can have serious impacts on natural habitats, flora and fauna. Although solar and wind have numerous environmental advantages compared to fossil fuels, hydropower and biomass, even these types of installations can cause harm when built in sensitive locations, with strong cumulative impacts due to their decentralised nature. With the increasing decentralisation of the energy sector, it is not viable to try to build first and add environmental safeguards later.
The EU Birds and Habitats Directives help ensure that energy installations are not built at the expense of natural heritage. And the Water Framework Directive is crucial in minimising the impact of energy projects on water quality and aquatic ecosystems. It is highly welcome that the European Commission has made a proposal to include parts of these Directives in the Energy Community Treaty, albeit with a rather generous transposition deadline that should in reality be speeded up.
The Commission’s proposal strikes a compromise between the need to introduce Appropriate Assessments and the fact that it will take some years for most of the countries to set up adequate networks of protected areas.
It allows the countries to start where they are right now, protecting areas already known to be of high value while continuing to investigate and add others.
Implementation of these Directives is an essential precondition for the development of decentralised renewable energy in the Energy Community countries. Clear and well-balanced rules benefit everyone, including investors, who need predictability and clarity in order to plan projects that have a high chance of succeeding.
Including the Directives in the Energy Community Treaty will also allow the governments of the Contracting Parties to benefit from the expertise of the Secretariat in transposition and implementation and provide fresh ideas and exchanges of best practice. Especially considering the long transposition deadline proposed by the Commission, it is essential that no further delays are allowed to occur in this process. The Energy Community Ministerial Council should therefore approve the inclusion of these Directives in December 2026 without further delay.
Source: Belgrade Open School