D 2.3 | Green Energy Transition
The GEO-POWER-EU project has released a new report, which examines the challenges and opportunities of the green energy transition across selected Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries, focusing on the interrelationship between energy security, energy poverty, and EU integration.
The report explores how the transition to greener energy systems is perceived and implemented in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, and Ukraine, against a backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions, EU decarbonisation policies, and increasing concerns over energy security following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Drawing on ten focus group discussions involving 75 participants from public authorities, civil society organisations, and business representatives across the five countries, it examines how socio-economic vulnerabilities, governance challenges, and institutional capacity shape the implementation of energy transition policies.
The report highlights that the green energy transition is not only an environmental objective but also a socio-economic, governance, and geopolitical challenge. It argues that strengthening energy security and reducing energy poverty require coordinated investments in modern energy infrastructure, stronger institutions, improved administrative capacity, inclusive governance, and greater support from the EU through financial assistance, technical expertise, and deeper market integration. Only through a socially inclusive and institutionally grounded transition can these countries achieve sustainable decarbonisation, strengthen resilience, and advance their integration with the European Union.