How to gradually include EU candidate countries in the EU ETS?

• Florence School of Transnational Governance
• STG Climate

Session as part of EUI Climate Week 2026

The Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine illustrate both the urgency of and the opportunity for accelerating the coal phase-out in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood paired with the deployment of renewable energy sources. This could build directly on existing initiatives, such as the Coal Regions in Transition for the Western Balkans and Ukraine initiative. Given the age and low efficiency of Western Balkan coal plants, a retirement within ten years could generate a reduction of more than 500 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2035. The power sector will be included in the EU ETS once EU membership becomes a reality. Such a transition could be facilitated through gradual inclusion in the EU ETS Modernisation Fund, or through the recognition of these emissions reductions in the form of international carbon credits.

This session as part of EUI Climate Week aims to address the question of how the EU, and the Energy Community, can prepare and establish the necessary conditions for a gradual integration of candidate countries into the EU ETS?

Chair: Christian Egenhofer, European University Institute and CEPS

Lead discussants:

• Adam Cwetsch, European Energy Community Secretariat
• Susanne Nies, Hemholtz Zentrum

Conclusion: Christian Dietz, European University Institute

Participation in this event is by invitation only and all deliberations will take place under the Chatham House rule (no views or positions may be attributed publicly to any participant).

More information and the full programme of the EUI Climate Week 2026 can be found here.