Clear rules on nature and water benefit renewable energy development and biodiversity: Joint civil society position paper on the inclusion of the EU Habitats, Birds and Water Framework Directives in the Energy Community Treaty

position paper    |    30 June 2026

This joint civil society position paper, supported by 78 civil society organisations, provides an insight into why it is crucial to include the relevant provisions of the EU Habitats, Birds and Water Framework Directives in the Energy Community Treaty.

The Treaty entered force in 2006, but contains only modest environmental safeguards such as requiring strategic environmental assessments for energy plans and programmes, and environmental impact assessments for individual projects.

The paper therefore argues that it is now increasingly urgent to include these Directives in the Treaty. If not adopted in 2026, the Western Balkans risk locking in renewable energy pathways that are legally uncertain, socially contested, and environmentally damaging.

This publication is also available in Albanian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian.