--- title: "\"This is 100%\": Expert Names the Main Barrier Preventing Ukraine from Joining the European Energy Market" description: "Alexander Kharchenko, Director of the Center for Energy Studies, stated that the European side will not allow the merger of energy markets until Ukraine settles its debts on the balancing market. Without a concrete plan to reduce the debt, integration remains abstract." date: 2026-09-08T14:10:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-european-energy-market-debt-barrier-integration tags: [ukraine, energy-market, eu-integration, balancing-market, debt, electricity] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # "This is 100%": Expert Names the Main Barrier Preventing Ukraine from Joining the European Energy Market ![High-voltage transmission tower at sunset — a symbol of Ukraine's energy integration into the European market](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/08/ukraina-evropeyskiy-energorynok-dolgi-barer-integratsii/ukraina-evropeyskiy-energorynok-dolgi-barer-integratsii-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The European side ties Ukraine's accession to the single energy market to the full settlement of debts on the balancing market - Alexander Kharchenko stated that without resolving the debt problem, the merger of markets is impossible "100%" - The state needs to define specific quantitative indicators and deadlines for reducing the debt - Systemic debts deter private investors and block access to European investment capital Ukraine's integration into the single European electricity market is being held back by a systemic problem that Kyiv has still failed to resolve: multi-billion debts on the balancing market. This was stated on September 8, 2026, by Alexander Kharchenko, Director of the Center for Energy Studies, on the YouTube podcast "Energhobudni," as noted by RBC-Ukraine. According to him, the European side has taken a clear and, in essence, unchanging position: first — resolve the debt problem, then — merge the markets. Until this order is followed, the discussion of full accession remains, in Kharchenko's own words, "too abstract." ### Europe's Position: "Settle Your Debts — and We Will Integrate You" Kharchenko emphasized that the European side's wording is not a one-off or situational remark. "The Europeans say: 'Resolve the debt problem, and then we will integrate you.' Well, this is a well-established position on the European side — that we cannot integrate a market that is distorted by debts, because it is impossible to work with it," RBC-Ukraine quotes the expert. In other words, Brussels and the ENTSO-E regulators view the Ukrainian energy market as an entity that, in its current state, does not meet the basic requirements of transparency and financial sustainability built into the European energy architecture. As long as Ukraine's balancing market generates opaque obligations, any technical protocols on grid synchronization remain on paper. ### The Balancing Market as a "Distorted" System The central element of Kharchenko's argument is precisely the balancing market — the mechanism that ensures instantaneous equilibrium between electricity generation and consumption. In Ukraine, according to the expert, this segment has accumulated debts that "distort the normal operation of the system and make it incompatible with European rules." In the European model, the balancing market operates on the basis of clear financial discipline: the system operator provides accurate data on imbalances, and participants settle within the established deadlines. In Ukrainian practice, by contrast, a significant portion of obligations is not repaid, creating a "distortion" in the data on which European operators must make decisions about power flows. Kharchenko stated outright: "Without resolving the debt problem, it is impossible to merge the markets. This is 100%." ### What Needs to Be Done: Specific Indicators and "Cascading" The expert stresses that a mere intention to "reduce the debts" is not enough. The state must define specific quantitative indicators: to exactly what level the debt needs to be reduced, within what deadlines, and by what mechanism. "Properly, there should be cascading there — resolving the balancing market problems — reducing the debt level by so much, right?" says Kharchenko. By "cascading" he means the sequential elimination of accumulated obligations by levels: first — the most critical ones that block the system's operation, then — the systemic ones. Without such a phased plan, in his assessment, the very goal of merging the markets remains declaratory and cannot be verified by European partners. ### The Broader Context: Investors and Renewable Energy The debt problem on the balancing market is not limited to the purely technical side of integration. As Olga Evstigneeva, Head of the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy, previously noted, systemic debts can prevent Ukraine from fully joining the European energy market, depriving the country of access to investment capital that flows precisely within the single European framework. Separately, industry analysts have pointed out that the opacity and debt burden on the balancing market deter private investors in energy: for any player considering an investment in generation or transmission, the presence of "gray" obligations in the system means unpredictable risk. Thus, the debt issue is simultaneously both a technical barrier to grid synchronization and an economic factor determining the attractiveness of the Ukrainian energy sector to external capital. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Ukraine Risks Missing Out on the European Energy Market Due to Debts, Says Expert](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukrayina-rizikue-potrapiti-evropeyskogo-energorinku-1788876532.html) - Цитаты Александра Харченко из подкаста «Энергобудни» приведены дословно. Упоминание позиции Ольги Евстигнеевой и оценки инвестрисков — из того же материала. Противоречий с другими источниками не обнаружено. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What exactly is preventing Ukraine from joining the European energy market? **A:** According to Alexander Kharchenko, Director of the Center for Energy Studies, the main barrier is the accumulated debts on the balancing market. The European side considers a market "distorted by debts" to be incompatible with European rules and unable to be integrated until those debts are fully repaid. ### Q: What does Ukraine need to do to remove this barrier? **A:** Kharchenko stresses the need for a concrete state plan: defining the exact quantitative indicators for reducing the debt, the deadlines, and the mechanism of "cascading" — the sequential elimination of debts by levels of criticality. ### Q: How do the debts affect the investment climate in Ukraine's energy sector? **A:** Industry experts note that the opacity and debt burden on the balancing market deter private investors. Olga Evstigneeva, Head of the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy, also pointed out that systemic debts can hinder full integration and limit access to European investment capital.