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EU/Balkans: The Energy Community issued a report providing the progress made by the Western Balkans countries towards integration in the EU in the energy sector, according to the Energy Community Treaty. This comes the same week that the EU launched a new “credible” enlargement strategy towards the Western Balkans. A key area for the cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans relates to the energy sector, as Brussels wants the region less reliable on Russian imports and aims at integrating the region into the European energy market. Among the Western Balkans, Montenegro and Serbia are the front-runners in what regards compliance with obligations under the Energy Community Treaty, even if further steps are still needed for the real implementation not only in the letter but also in the spirit of the acquis. In the same time, the Energy Community Secretariat has proposed reforming the current weak sanction regime under the Treaty. The sanctions regime plays a double role: it is both an instrument for improving the track record of the contracting parties in implementing the acquis and also an incentive for the Western Balkans states on the road for accession.
EU/Southern Corridor: The European Investment Bank approved funding of €1.5 billion for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on Feb. 6. The project aims at forming the European leg of the Southern Gas Corridor. TAP will cross the Anatolian plain from Azerbaijan, cut through northern Greece, Albania and will end in southern Italy. It is also supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which announced in December last year it was providing a €500mn loan to the project operator. Apart from funding TAP, the EIB also agreed on financing energy infrastructure projects that, together with TAP, worth a total of €6.5 billion.
EU/Policy: The EU Commission decided to approve capacity mechanisms (state aid for emergency power schemes) for six member states: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Poland, covering more than half of the EU population. For each country, there is a specific mechanism applied. The Commission approved the creation of strategic reserves in Belgium and Germany, while it has authorized market-wide capacity mechanisms for Italy and Poland, to be activated when structural security of supply problems affect the electricity market.
Poland: Poland adopted its first Electro-Mobility Act on Monday (5 February), which is a new legal foundation for the development of electric cars and buses in the country. The government stated that it aims that the policy supports that about 1 million electric cars be on the Polish roads by 2025. This is a new step to support renewable energy developments in Poland, even if coal remains the pillar of the country’s energy security.
Technology Questions:
The Swedish government announced last week that it would support the Swedish company Northvolt plans to set up large-scale battery cell plants across Europe. To that purpose, the government will invest 146 million crowns (€14.75 million) in a 4 billion-euro project to build Europe’s biggest battery cell plant in the north-west of the country. The government funding will be used to support the construction of a pilot facility in Vasteras, west of Stockholm. Northvolt has partnered with Volkswagen-owned truck-maker Scania, the Swiss engineering group ABB and the Danish wind turbine maker Vestas to work on the project, but it still needs to secure more than 50% of the project’s total funding.
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