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

This policy brief presents insights from informal bilateral discussions conducted by Ember and the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) with transmission system operators (TSOs) from six Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The document examines CEE TSO perspectives on the European Commission's upcoming European Grids Package, highlighting a tension between the shared ambition to modernise grids and concerns regarding EU-level governance, funding complexity, and the perceived dominance of Western European interests in policy shaping.

• TSOs in Central and Eastern Europe express cautious optimism toward the EU Grids Package but report low confidence in EU-led coordination. They perceive EU procedures as administratively burdensome and disconnected from national realities, while fearing a potential loss of national sovereignty in grid planning.
• There is a perception among CEE TSOs that Western European operators exert disproportionate influence over EU energy policy, leading to the underrepresentation of CEE priorities in European forums due to resource constraints and limited presence in Brussels.
• While EU co-financing is essential, TSOs find the administrative processes for accessing funds excessively complex. Specifically, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and REPowerEU funds are viewed as overly bureaucratic because they rely on national government approval processes.
• Grid development in the region is hindered by reactive national regulatory mindsets that prioritise demonstrated need over anticipatory investments. Additionally, there is a noted misalignment between National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and National Grid Development Plans (NDPs).
• TSOs near the EU's external borders face heightened physical security risks, including cyberattacks and hybrid threats to critical infrastructure, and are seeking dedicated EU financial and strategic support to mitigate these risks.

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} }