At today's 22nd ministerial meeting of the Energy Community Council in Vienna, Minister of Energy Saša Mujović requested that Montenegro be exempted from the application of the CBAM mechanism, which begins to be applied on January 1, 2026.
This mechanism means that those countries that are not part of the EU have to pay special taxes on carbon dioxide, that is, on electricity produced from thermal power plants that use coal.
Mujović told "Vijesta" this evening that this and all other requests he presented at the meeting will be forwarded to the European Commission for further decision.
"The Ministry of Energy invested and is making enormous efforts to implement the energy package (the adoption of three laws - on renewable energy sources - adopted, the law on energy - passed by the Government and the law on cross-border exchange of energy and gas - passed public discussion) and connected our At this rate, we have a real chance to do it in the 4th quarter of 2026. From January 1, 2026, the application of the CBAM mechanism for CO2 emitters, which would be a huge levy for the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant. In order to request an exemption from the application of CBAM, we have to connect with the European energy market, and that's why I explicitly asked them to spare us this levy from January 1, 2026, until the fourth quarter of the same year. when we expect to be connected.Furthermore, I asked them to provide us with more material support and to allow us to sell our guarantees of origin (certificates issued for electricity produced from renewable sources), in order to implement a fair energy transition as soon as possible," Mujović said
He clarified that he also asked for the EU to help similar to what they did with the Greek island of Naxos, giving it two billion euros in aid.
"I asked for an explanation of what fate awaits Montenegro if it enters the EU in 2028. Then, according to EU rules, we enter the so-called EU ETS (similar to CBAM). So, I asked them to help us and reduce that type of levy There was no talk about the Pljevlja thermal power plant of electricity, meant savings of at least 350 million euros per year, plus enabled the profitable operation of Termolektrana Pljevlja," Mujović pointed out.
The Ministry of Energy prepared a draft of the National Energy and Climate Plan, which was sent to the Energy Community (EC) for an opinion, and in which it is foreseen that the Pljeval Thermal Power Plant will be shut down by 2041, and the EC was asked to understand that Montenegro cannot achieve the goals that are assigned to achieve by 2030. which the minister announced last week at the annual press conference.
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