As geopolitical risks persist, the Trans-Balkan Pipeline gains strategic importance 

Speaking at the Financial Times Energy Transition Summit in Athens, regional leaders stressed the corridor’s growing role in both energy security and long-term decarbonisation

As energy prices continue to fluctuate in response to geopolitical instability, senior representatives from government, industry and finance across the Eastern Mediterranean and South East Europe gathered at the Financial Times Energy Transition Summit to discuss how regional cooperation, market integration and energy diversification can strengthen long-term energy security while supporting the energy transition. In this context, the importance of trans-border gas infrastructure is growing. Participating in a panel discussion on the initiative, Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski highlighted the strategic potential of the Trans-Balkan Pipeline to become a key conduit for LNG and other diversified gas flows—for example, from Black Sea production -- strengthening regional security of supply. 

“The main barrier to the Trans-Balkan Pipeline becoming a backbone of energy security is fragmentation,” Artur Lorkowski underscored. “For the corridor to realise its full potential, it must operate as part of an integrated gas market uniting  EU Member States and neighbouring Energy Community Contracting Parties along the route under common EU market principles.” 

Encouraging progress is underway. From August 2026, EU Member States will be required to apply EU gas network codes at their borders, including with Energy Community Contracting Parties. These network codes will form the basis of further gas market integration, as they establish common rules for cross-border trade. Energy Community Contracting Parties are working to reciprocate. Doing so would be especially significant for Moldova and Ukraine, both of which are aligning their gas markets to EU rules in preparation for further integration. Moldova opened its gas market for large consumers — 55% of its gas demand — earlier this year. Meanwhile, for Ukraine, the Trans-Balkan Pipeline could become a key corridor for diversified gas supplies, unlocking the strategic potential of its vast underground gas storage capacities for the wider Central and Eastern European region. In the longer term, the pipeline could become key part of Ukraine’s role as a transit and balancing hub for regional gas flows. 

Two regional initiatives are helping turn this vision into reality. SEEGAS brings together regulators, operators and market actors from the EU and wider Energy Community region to advance gas market integration and support the full potential of the Trans-Balkan Pipeline through regulatory alignment. In parallel, the Central and South-Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity initiative is coordinating transmission system operators and regulators to remove barriers to efficient pipeline use, including through gas quality harmonisation, standardised shipping rules and more predictable, competitive tariffs. 

In the future, Lorowski noted, the pipeline may have an important role to play in the energy transition, supporting the integration of renewable gases, much of which can use existing infrastructure.