Photo: Balkan Green Energy News
Over the past year, Montenegro has focused on improving its national legislation and expects to close Chapter 15 – Energy in its accession negotiations with the European Union in the coming months, Minister of Mining and Energy Admir Šahmanović said at Belgrade Energy Forum 2026.
Belgrade Energy Forum 2026 (BEF 2026), a two-day event organized by Southeast Europe’s leading energy news portal, Balkan Green Energy News, kicked off yesterday. On its first day, it brought together about 500 participants. The conference was opened by Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski and Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
Speaking at the ministerial panel, Admir Šahmanović stressed that every crisis also offers great development opportunities and that Montenegro has proactively adopted this approach.
He noted that the country has aligned its legislation with EU regulations, sending the best possible message to investors that it plans to pursue infrastructural projects seriously.
European electricity consumption is forecast to rise significantly over the coming years
The minister pointed out that throughout its history, humanity has focused on different resources: first coal, then oil, and now electricity. He added that forecasts suggest that European electricity consumption will rise significantly over the coming years.
“This is precisely where we see our opportunity. With the development of data centers and artificial intelligence (AI), power consumption is growing,” he said, adding that he believes that in the future the question will not be whether a nation is large or small, but rather whether it has sufficient electricity, especially if it comes from renewables.
Through intergovernmental agreements, Montenegro is trying to make up for lost time, the minister added.
Montenegro is positioning itself as an energy bridge between the Western Balkans and the EU
He recalled that three days ago, Montenegro’s Gvozd wind farm was put into operation. It is the first state-owned power generation facility built since 1982, Šahmanović stressed.
The minister noted that the process of power market coupling with the EU is underway through a collaboration with Italy, and that the construction of the Montenegrin section of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor is nearing completion.
All this, along with other achievements, has paved the way for an agreement with Terna on a second submarine power cable to Italy, designed to double the interconnector’s existing capacity and position Montenegro as an energy bridge between the Western Balkans and the EU, according to Šahmanović.
An opportunity to send a message to Brussels
“We aim for Montenegro to become a vital strategic partner to the EU by leveraging our capacity to supply competitively priced electricity from renewable sources,” Šahmanović stressed.
He highlighted that regional ministerial meetings provide a unique opportunity to tackle pressing energy challenges together.
By exchanging experiences and defining shared priorities, the region sends a clear signal to Brussels: the Western Balkans is a responsible and reliable partner in the transition to green energy, he underscored.
Speakers at the ministerial panel also included Sanja Božinovska, Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia, Petar Đokić, Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska, Vedran Lakić, Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry of the Federation of BiH, Elnur Soltanov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, and Jovana Joksimović, Serbian Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy for International Cooperation and European Integration.
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