Western Balkans and Ukraine: EC-backed Energy Community to prioritise coal plants that threaten EU long-term climate targets

The Western Balkans countries are aspiring to become members of the European Union. On 24 October the Ministerial Council of the EC-backed Energy Community will approve a list of priority energy infrastructure projects resulting from the Regional Energy Strategy known as Projects of Energy Community Interest (PECIs) for the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine. These projects would be prioritised for fast-track approval and public financing. Yet, six of the proposed projects are coal/lignite power plants (see below for more details), while several hydropower plants are also causing concern due their serious biodiversity impacts.