Energy Community

📸⏳ The countdown has begun for the "Women in Energy" Photo Exhibition. Where can you see it? 👇

At the Just Transition Forum in less than two weeks!

🏆 20th October 2026

📍 Podgorica, Montenegro

🎟️ We're nearly at capacity for the forum. Register here: https://bit.ly/4yOAKkk

The Energy Community Secretariat, in cooperation with GIZ Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, launched the first edition of the Women in Energy Photo Contest to increase the visibility and recognition of women across the energy sector in Southeast and Eastern Europe by highlighting their diverse roles, expertise, and contributions.

A huge thanks to our applicants from across the region, and a special shout-out to our chosen exhibitors this year:

💛 Ajla Čišija

💛 Slavjanka Georgieska

💛 Ilda Dautović

💛 Irina Apostol

💛 Irina Kometiani

💛 Irina Fusaru

💛 Mariia Tyshchenko

💛 Milena Anđelić

💛 Monika Laboska

💛 Natalija Zindović

💛 Sara Suli

💛 Shemsije Lahu

💛 Svitlana Yanik

💛 Tanja Obradovic

💛 Olena Kasianchuk

💛 Milica Sošić

💛 Donika Bajrami Mustafa

Help spread the word by commenting on or sharing this post!

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This project is implemented in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, within the framework of the Regional Climate Partnership (RCP) between Germany and the Western Balkans.

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Energy Community Oil Forum moves the needle on regional crisis preparedness 👇

Government representatives, the European Commission, the International Energy Agency and the oil industry from across Southeast and Eastern Europe met in Belgrade for the Energy Community Oil Forum.

Here's a recap if you weren't able to join us:

An Energy Community Oil Coordination Group is being set up to strengthen early warning and joint crisis response. The Group will bring together the nine Contracting Parties from the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to:

→ monitor regional oil markets

→ exchange information on supply, demand and emergency stocks

→ assess emerging supply risks and infrastructure developments

It will meet regularly and can be convened at short notice in the event of an actual or imminent supply disruption, much like the EU's own Oil Coordination Group does for its Member States.

"Crisis mitigation is not solely a domestic issue. Only through collective action can we fight a global crisis. The Energy Community provides an effective and well-established framework for this," said Predrag Grujicic, Head of Gas at the Energy Community Secretariat.

2026 has shown how adaptable the region's oil markets are, and why preparedness still needs strengthening. A first-of-its-kind Secretariat report, presented at the Forum and soon to be published, tracks progress on emergency stocks:

→ Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have dedicated legislation and physical stocks covering around 45–50 days, against the 90-day target

→ Moldova has made strong progress on legislation and must now move quickly to build physical stocks

→ Albania's draft legislation is nearing completion

→ Contracting Parties still lagging should follow suit and urgently put the necessary legal frameworks and physical stocks in place.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4du8DP4

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Are our oil security systems ready?

That was the question put to the final panel of the 18th Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade, chaired by Priit Enok of the Energy Community Secretariat.

On the panel:

🤝 Antony Lagrange, European Commission, DG ENER

🤝 Iakob Nikoleishvili, International Energy Agency

🤝Wojciech Labuda, Polish Organisation of Oil Industry and Trade

🤝 Jakub Kristín, Emergency Oil Stocks Agency (EOSA), Slovakia

The takeaway? A system is ready when its responsibilities, contingency plans and release procedures have been tested before a crisis, not written during one.

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Holding emergency oil stocks is one thing. How do you operationalise them?

At our next session at the 18th Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade, we heard lived experiences from:

🤝 Antony Lagrange of the European Commission's DG ENER gave an update on European oil-security policy and where it is heading.

🤝 Iakob Nikoleishvili of the International Energy Agency spoke about emergency stocks and collective action amid unprecedented supply disruptions.

🤝 Wojciech Labuda, Director for Regulation at the Polish Organisation of Oil Industry and Trade, shared lessons from the history of the Polish oil stocks system and lessons for the future.

🤝 Jakub Kristín, Operations Manager at Slovakia's Emergency Oil Stocks Agency (EOSA), presented Slovakia's crisis response in 2026 and his view on the future of the Oil Stocks Directive.

A takeaway? Build national emergency stocks first, and build them so they can be used alongside others'. In a market this interconnected, no country gets through a serious disruption alone.

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Fuel kept flowing in the Energy Community through the sharpest oil supply shock in more than half a century. But at a high price, and on thin buffers.

That was the headline as the afternoon of the 18th Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade opened with Priit Enok and a preview of the Secretariat's 2026 Oil Market Status Reports:

A few things stand out:

⚡ Nobody is at 90 days yet. Serbia holds about 51 days of net imports and North Macedonia about 45, while Montenegro has formed 39% of its obligation. Five markets are still putting a system in place.

⚡ Progress is real across the region. Moldova adopted its stockholding law in June 2026, Albania's draft law reached Parliament, North Macedonia has a funded 2026–2030 action plan, and Montenegro adopted its crisis plan in May.

⚡ The market across Europe is shared. Our response should be too. Greece supplied about 82% of North Macedonia's petroleum-product imports in 2024, and Romania about 99% of Moldova's gasoline. A disruption in one market is felt in the others.

The takeaway: the Oil Stocks Directive sets a clear objective, a high level of security of oil supply based on solidarity, emergency stocks and the means to deal with a serious shortage. The experience of 2026 confirmed how relevant that objective is. Implementation must now translate into stronger and more operational crisis preparedness.

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Who needs to be in the room before the next supply disruption hits?

The morning of the 18th Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade closed with the panel discussion "From Market Disruption to Supply Resilience", chaired by Antony Lagrange of the European Commission's DG ENER.

Around the table:

🤝 Ian Moore, Oil Market Journal

🤝 Vuk Radović, HELLENiQ Energy

🤝Zorana Sekulić, Ministry of Energy and Mining, Montenegro

🤝 Hannes Kont, Elering AS

Market analysts, industry, government and operators with first-hand crisis experience do not often sit on the same panel. When they do, we begin to grasp the big picture -- one that lets us act in time to mitigate energy crises.

More to come from this afternoon's discussions. Stick around!

What does it take to keep fuel supply running when the infrastructure itself is the target?

The second session of the 18th Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade turned from markets to resilience under severe stress:

🤝 Svitlana Diachenko of Ukrnafta shared lessons from Ukraine on maintaining fuel supply under attack.

🤝 Hannes Kont, Head of Crisis Preparedness at Elering AS, took us beyond the Russian grid: from Baltic desynchronisation to the resilience of critical energy infrastructure against technical and hybrid risks.

The takeaway: clear responsibilities, contingency plans and release procedures, together with established cooperation between authorities and market participants, need to be in place and tested before a crisis occurs.

Preparedness cannot be improvised once a crisis has begun.

Thank you to both speakers for sharing experience that was hard-won and highly relevant for the whole region.

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How do you keep fuel flowing when supply routes shift and disruptions become the norm?

That question opened the 18th Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade today, where we looked at oil markets and supply disruptions from three angles. Thank you to:

🤝 Ian Moore, who presented the global oil market outlook for 2026–2030: risks, disruptions and new trade patterns.

🤝Vuk Radović, from HELLENiQ Energy, gave an industry perspective on how regional oil markets are changing.

🤝Zorana Sekulić, Acting Director General for Oil and Gas at Montenegro's Ministry of Energy and Mining, shared the country's response to this year's supply disruptions and the lessons learned.

A takeaway? Diversification strengthens resilience to supply disruptions, while the energy transition reduces long-term dependence on fossil fuels. But adequate security of supply is needed throughout this process, so that energy shortages do not undermine progress towards the transition.

Thank you to our speakers for a strong start to the day, and to Antony Lagrange of the European Commission's DG ENER for chairing.

More to come this afternoon on emergency stocks, preparedness and implementation.

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How prepared are we to weather the current energy crisis? And what is the future of the the European Oil Stocks Directive?

Join us on October 7th in Belgrade, for the Energy Community's Oil Forum.

In our panel discussion on "Preparedness, Emergency Stocks & Implementation," you'll hear from:



🤝 Antony Lagrange,ho will give a European oil-security policy update

🤝 Iakob Nikoleishvili, who will give his perspective on Coordinated

🤝 Wojciech Labuda, who will share lessons in emergency response from the Polish Oil Stocks System

🤝 Jakub Kristín, who will dive into slovakia’s oil security in 2026.

🤝 Priit Enok will moderat!

There are still a few spots left for in-person participation at the Oil Forum: https://bit.ly/4hit43I

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