Last Friday, February 6, was indeed a historic day for Pljevlja – but not because of the EPCG announcement that the desulphurisation and denitrification systems had been put into trial operation. It was historic because on that day the Head of the EU Delegation, the UN Coordinator and a representative of the European Investment Bank visited the city and conveyed to its citizens the message that Europe and the United Nations are ready to support a just transition.
In other words, to use financial resources, knowledge and experience to help create new jobs in a city where a mine and thermal power plant must be closed as part of the fight against climate change.
The Director of the Mine reacted responsibly on this occasion and proposed the formation of a dedicated Just Transition Fund into which funds from the EU and other donors would flow, presenting specific projects that the mine has already started, as well as new initiatives that are worth investing in.
In contrast, EPCG's leaders and media team said in their statement that the visit "represents a strong signal of support from European and international partners for the ecological reconstruction process", with the optimistic claim that "the ecological reconstruction will ensure full and long-term compliance with the strictest European ecological standards".
This media spin misused the visit of high-ranking international officials, imputing to them assessments that they did not make, thereby misleading the public. On the contrary, the visit had the opposite objective - to replace the long-term perspective of the mine and the thermal power plant with the acceleration of activities to implement a just transition with the support of the international community.
A similar message was sent to Montenegro at the Energy Community Ministerial Council meeting held on 18 December 2025. After the Minister of Energy, together with several colleagues from the region, managed to postpone the adoption of a formal decision in the case of extended operation of the Pljevlja thermal power plant due to violation of European regulations on harmful gas emissions through a procedural maneuver, Conclusion No. 28 was adopted, explicitly warning the contracting parties that from 1 January 2028, even stricter criteria for emissions and environmental protection will be introduced through the implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive.
And the Pljevlja thermal power plant, after ecological reconstruction and installation of inadequate technology, cannot even meet the existing BAT-AEL standards for nitrogen oxide emissions (<100 mg/Nm³), which is confirmed by the first tests after commissioning. It also cannot reach the minimum energy efficiency standard for new plants (about 36,5%). Even less can it meet the new, stricter standards that will apply from 1 January 2028 - the very year when Montenegro, according to official plans, should become a member of the EU, after the closure of all negotiation chapters.
The message from Europe is therefore very clear: the fight against climate change must be intensified and the coal phase-out accelerated. The EU legal framework will not allow for exceptions, flexible interpretations or new procedural delays in decisions declaring substandard thermal power plants illegal.
Despite all of the above, EPCG announces that it will request a long-term permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to operate the thermal power plant at full capacity. This action directly calls into question the success of the negotiations on the closure of chapters 15 (Energy) and 27 (Environment), as well as the strategic goal of Montenegro's membership in the EU in 2028.
This behavior of the EPCG management, with the obvious support of part, if not the entire Government, is additionally irrational for economic reasons. With the application of the CBAM mechanism from January 1, 2026, through the obligation to purchase certificates at the ETS price (around 80-90 euros per ton of CO2), the operation of the thermal power plant becomes not only unprofitable, but also financially destructive, because the costs of electricity production are significantly higher than the prices at which it is sold - which, as EPCG claims, they do not intend to increase.
The key question therefore arises: do EPCG and the Government consciously risk financially devastating the company by continuing to operate the thermal power plant at full capacity and jeopardizing Montenegro's European path by violating European rules, just to maintain the illusion of "successful governance" and buy political legitimacy until the 2027 elections? Or is it simply too difficult to admit that the reconstruction of the thermal power plant has failed miserably and take responsibility for it?
The public has the right to receive, and the Government and EPCG have the legal obligation to openly and transparently present data on the operation and business of the thermal power plant, its actual costs, the prices at which electricity is sold, as well as the risks that are consciously taken for the future of EPCG and the state.
Without the full truth about the legal, economic, and political context of its work, Montenegro risks paying a high price for today's silence for years to come.
Bonus video:
