The European Union is seeking to ease the impact of the energy transition on regions that have so far relied on coal. The Just Transition Fund, which has been operating for several years, provides multi-billion-euro support for investment in these areas. However, in the new multiannual financial framework, its continuation in the current form has not been envisaged, as it is to be integrated into partnership plans. Work is currently underway in the European Parliament on the future shape of this support. According to Polish Members of the European Parliament, the process should guarantee development opportunities for regions while also ensuring energy security.
“Just transition is a project being prepared within the European Union. I work in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), and the document concerning just transition is currently being referred there. This is, of course, a very broad concept, but it must guarantee development opportunities for regions that are undergoing change under the rules currently in force in the European Union,” Beata Szydło, a Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice, told Newseria news agency.
As part of the Just Transition Mechanism, the Just Transition Fund was established in 2021. Its purpose is to support regions in the transition to climate neutrality by 2050. A budget of €19.7 billion in current prices was allocated to it for the years 2021–2027. The mechanism itself is broader, however, and is intended to deliver around €55 billion in total for investments in regions most affected by the negative socio-economic consequences of the transition.
Work is now underway on the future of this type of support. In the European Commission’s draft multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034, the fund is not set to continue in its current form. Instead, it is becoming part of national and regional partnership plans combining cohesion funding with instruments for agriculture. As the ITRE Committee underlined in its opinion in February this year, durable and targeted financing for just transition remains an essential element of the economic and social measures accompanying Europe’s shift to clean energy.
“Just transition must provide economic and business security for these regions, and it must also ensure that the people living there have jobs. At the moment, energy security is the most important issue. What works, for example, for countries in the south of the European Union does not necessarily have to work in our circumstances. That is why it is so important for the Polish government to make it clear that, yes, we accept the issues related to the transition, but we need time,” the Law and Justice MEP stressed. “The changing global reality — with new wars now breaking out around the world — shows that some of the projects and positions adopted so far need to be revised. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been saying this as well.”
In 2022, the European Commission approved the disbursement of more than €3.85 billion from the fund to support the climate transformation of mining areas in Silesia, Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Lower Silesia and the Łódź region. Member States may also complement resources allocated under the Just Transition Fund with funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund Plus.
“Today, just transition in Poland is not being implemented. Unfortunately, we are the country that has been hit hardest by the forced move away from raw materials such as coal. The whole economy is suffering from this. The mining and metallurgical industries are suffering as well,” said Tomasz Buczek, a Member of the European Parliament from Confederation.
According to data from Forum Energii, coal accounted for 80% of electricity generation in Poland in 2015. In 2021 its share stood at 72.5%, and in 2025 it fell to 52.8% in the Polish energy mix. Data from the Industrial Development Agency show that Polish hard coal mines produced 42.8 million tonnes of the commodity in 2025, compared with around 44 million tonnes in 2024.
According to an analysis by the Polish Green Network, Poland’s planned strategy — the National Energy and Climate Plan — does not ensure a just transition for coal regions after 2027. Experts from the organization stress that the document relies almost exclusively on the Just Transition Fund, which expires in 2027. It does not address the lack of the fund in the new financial perspective and does not indicate national sources of financing.
“We hope that in the course of the work being carried out in the European Parliament, we will be able to convince politicians from Civic Platform, the Left and the Third Way to abandon this harmful path as soon as possible. I recently heard a statement by Dariusz Joński, who asked a colleague from the Socialists whether she would be willing to start a debate on the need to revise ETS2. This project must be rejected, because there is no acceptable form for its continuation,” Tomasz Buczek argued. “At the European Parliament level, this issue is being completely neglected. As political actors with real influence in the European Parliament, responsible for shaping the policy of the European People’s Party, they should quickly ensure that a broad debate takes place and that Parliament blocks the harmful actions of the European Commission.”
The EU emissions trading system is set to cover CO2 emissions from fuels used in buildings and road transport from 2028. It was originally supposed to enter into force in 2027, but the start was pushed back by one year. Calls for a revision of the system are becoming more frequent. Ursula von der Leyen herself has spoken about the need to adapt the entire system to current conditions, although, as she stressed, this does not mean abolishing it. According to European Commission data, ETS-related measures have contributed to reducing gas consumption in the EU.
The MEP also points to the need to accelerate Poland’s nuclear programme.
“Our delays in nuclear energy are a separate issue, and we should address them as quickly as possible. I remember discussions years ago at various energy forums, where it was difficult to convince our society about nuclear power. We were frightened by various institutions which, in my opinion, were financed by external countries and tried to convince us that nuclear energy was dangerous. Those same countries were using it themselves at the time,” the MEP said. “Today the situation is completely different. Society expects the rapid construction of nuclear power plants and independence from changing weather conditions or wartime disruptions.”
A survey carried out at the turn of November and December 2025 for the Ministry of Energy found that 91.9% of respondents in Poland support the construction of nuclear power plants in the country. Nearly 80% said they would accept such a facility being built near where they live. Poles rated their knowledge of nuclear energy at 3.8 on a five-point scale, while two-thirds of respondents gave themselves a good or very good rating.
