Aligning interests: Central Eastern European TSO perspectives on EU grid development
Insights from Central and Eastern European TSOs on national priorities and future EU grid policies
Policy Advisor – European Energy
Ember
Senior Research Fellow for Energy and Climate Policy
Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA)
Summary
Key takeaways from discussions with Central and Eastern European TSOs
During the European Commission’s consultation on the upcoming European Grids Package, Ember, together with the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), conducted a series of informal bilateral discussions with transmission system operators (TSOs) from six countries – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.
The purpose was to understand how the initiative is viewed across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and to identify the region’s key priorities, proposals and challenges shaping the future of grid development.
The EU Grids Package, building on the 2023 EU Grids Action Plan, is intended to tackle mounting grid congestion, bridge investment shortfalls and strengthen cross-border coordination. By accelerating electricity-network modernisation it seeks to align infrastructure planning with rapid renewables growth and the EU’s long-term decarbonisation goals.
For Central and Eastern Europe, the stakes are high. The Baltic synchronisation project, completed in February 2025, was an important milestone, yet much of the region’s transmission grid remains outdated, under-resourced and insufficiently connected. During a period of rapid renewables uptake, TSOs agreed that grid modernisation and flexibility tools are urgently needed, while coordination gaps, regulatory fragmentation and limited financing capacity persist as major barriers.
Our findings highlight both convergence with EU grid goals and persistent gaps in capacity, governance and trust that may obstruct implementation. Integrating CEE perspectives will be key to ensuring the European Grids Package delivers across diverse national contexts.
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Methodology
The insights presented in this paper are based on informal conversations with representatives from various departments within national TSOs. These discussions were conducted under conditions of anonymity and should not be interpreted as official institutional positions. Further engagement with additional TSOs and stakeholders is planned to continue refining findings.