Aligning interests: Central Eastern European TSO perspectives on EU grid development

The document outlines the views of TSOs from Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia regarding EU grid development. While generally supportive of the European Grids Package, these operators express low confidence in EU-level coordination, citing administrative burdens and a perception of Western European dominance in policy shaping. Key barriers identified include outdated infrastructure, regulatory fragmentation, and complex access to EU funding mechanisms like the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The TSOs emphasize the need for more practical, inclusive reforms that respect national sovereignty and address specific security risks for countries on the EU's external borders.

• TSOs in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) exhibit cautious optimism toward the European Grids Package but have low confidence in EU-led coordination, which they perceive as administratively heavy and disconnected from national realities.
• There is a perceived imbalance in EU energy policy influence, with CEE stakeholders feeling that Western European TSOs have a disproportionate impact and that CEE priorities are underrepresented due to resource constraints.
• EU funding is critical but hindered by bureaucracy; while the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is preferred, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and REPowerEU funds are seen as overly bureaucratic and difficult to access.
• TSOs near the EU's external borders face heightened physical and cyber security risks to critical infrastructure and require dedicated EU financial and strategic support to avoid competitive disadvantages.
• National grid investment is often hampered by a reactive regulatory mindset that prioritizes demonstrated need over anticipatory investments, risking under-investment in the infrastructure required for renewables integration.

APA

Mindekova, T., & Theisen, N. (2025). Aligning interests: Central Eastern European TSO perspectives on EU grid development. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/CEE_TSOs_Policy-paper_new_template.pdf

Chicago

Mindekova, Tatiana, and Nolan Theisen. Aligning interests: Central Eastern European TSO perspectives on EU grid development. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/CEE_TSOs_Policy-paper_new_template.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mindekova |first1=Tatiana |last2=Theisen |first2=Nolan |title=Aligning interests: Central Eastern European TSO perspectives on EU grid development |publisher=Ember |date=24 October 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/CEE_TSOs_Policy-paper_new_template.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mindekova2025aligning, author = {Mindekova, Tatiana and Theisen, Nolan}, title = {{Aligning interests: Central Eastern European TSO perspectives on EU grid development}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/CEE_TSOs_Policy-paper_new_template.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }