Third CBAM monitoring report: electricity trade between WB6 and the EU  remains below 2025 levels 

While the Energy Community framework is helping EU aspirants put in place the laws needed to integrate their electricity markets with the EU, the CBAM-related costs risk limiting the mutual benefits that deeper integration and cross-border electricity trade can bring. 

The Energy Community Secretariat’s quarterly monitoring reports have documented a shift in electricity trade between the EU and the Western Balkans since CBAM took effect, driven by a complex mix of factors. This third quarterly report largely confirms that trend, though with signs of a partial recovery compared with the previous quarter.  

According to the report, electricity trade between the EU and the Western Balkans was 9% higher than in the previous quarter, but still 14% below the same period last year. Western Balkan prices moved more closely with the Hungarian price than in the second quarter. However, this did not mean that prices converged. Price spreads above EUR 20/MWh occurred in more than half of all hours on the borders with EU markets. These spreads happened  more often than in the second quarter of 2026 and more than twice as often as in the third quarter of 2025, a sign that the markets still frequently pull apart. Trade developments also differed strongly across borders. Exports from Montenegro to Italy rose by around 80% compared with the third quarter of 2025, despite the CBAM cost, while trading on the region’s power exchanges continued to grow.

CBAM costs are one of multiple factors that may have influenced these dynamics. On every assessed border with a non-zero default value, the indicative CBAM cost per megawatt-hour remained higher than the average price advantage of the Western Balkan market over its EU neighbour. No CBAM cost applies to electricity from Albania, whose default emission value is zero. Other factors which shaped the market in the last quarter include higher demand in Italy, lower nuclear output in Romania, as well as lower cross-border capacity on some borders.  

Montenegro also shows how Contracting Parties can respond to CBAM. In July, it reformed its domestic carbon pricing to follow the EU ETS price and to direct revenues to national climate investments. If EU rules are met, carbon prices paid at home may reduce CBAM charges, keeping those funds in the domestic economy.  

The Secretariat will continue to closely monitor market trends under CBAM and assess their implications in upcoming quarterly reports.  

Finally, the Secretariat today published on its website the list of accredited verifiers, who are entitled to certify the fulfilment of conditions to use actual emission values for electricity imported as a CBAM good. This step is crucial for facilitating the import of renewable electricity from Contracting Parties into the European Union and thus encouraging the uptake of carbon-free energy while strengthening market integration. The Secretariat will regularly update the list, which is based on publicly available information. 

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is the European Union’s regulation aiming to establish a level playing field for EU-based producers and importers of CBAM goods, including electricity. CBAM is not part of the Energy Community legislation.