FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG – INCLUSIVE ENERGY TRANSITION IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE of pollution. However, our stakeholders say that there is no systematic approach to solving the problem. The authorities should educate people to understand the connection be­tween energy poverty and energy management and should implement energy efficiency measures in the residential buildings where the citizens in need live. Employment ‘Keeping people uneducated offers the possibility to ex­ploit them easily, but then they cannot change’, says an NGO interviewee. They describe the problem of employ­ment in the energy sector:‘It is difficult for people who are working in mining to change jobs because they are poorly educated, they just know how to use a pick axe. We already closed some coal mines; people got fired and got a big amount of money, accompanied by the reconversion pro­gram offering the possibility for other employment. Few of them were successful in this transformation’. Some of the trade unions are involved in trying to influ­ence people to accept changes, but they are still a minor­ity. One of the stakeholders mentions that there were some scandals with trade unions taking the funding in­tended for training and not performing any kind of train­ing activity. Another participant thinks that these people should be requalified to work in construction, building renovation and the railways where a large workforce is needed. The government should also invest in retraining people, especially because administrative offices have widespread nepotism and corruption.‘You cannot say to a guy from the city council who came there without a re­cruitment process,‘From tomorrow you are an expert in smart cities!’ We speak about digitalisation and people there do not know how to write an e-mail’, emphasises one interviewee. 9. SERBIA Awareness of inclusive energy transition Interviewees from Serbia describe the inclusiveness of the energy transition as the process of joining all the levels of society, and three of the stakeholders emphasise the role of the local authorities. One interviewee points out that the local authorities will be most affected by the transition and that they need to know what will happen to the citi­zens in both economic and financial terms. All the stake­holders stress that the planning process must also be inclu­sive. The best indicators for inclusiveness are the figures re­lated to the use of RES at the national and local level on one hand and the number of citizens or associations pres­ent at the consultations, as well as comments during the planning of legal and strategic documents and also on adopted documents, on the other. However, interviewees seem to agree that inclusive energy transition in Serbia is just an empty phrase and that the government is not show­ing very high interest in meeting climate targets. Formal barriers to and opportunities for inclusion All experts point out that the transition in Serbia is ham­pered by the insufficient awareness of decision makers. One of the interviewees points out that decision makers say one thing and do the exact opposite, and it confuses the citi­zens. There is no political will because cheap electricity is a great tool for manipulating voters.‘In order to be able to in­vest, we have to increase the price of electricity, but that is not in the interest of the electorate, especially amidst the pandemic and with the current economic situation’, says one interviewee. One of the participants states that Serbia still lives on its inheritance from Yugoslavia, developed as an area for energy and agriculture. It is difficult to explain to people that this energy is bad. According to all our interviewees, the legislation is being transposed quickly and successfully, but the problem is that secondary legislation has not been adopted yet. When pass­ing the law, it is not considered what is needed for imple­mentation, and the process falls apart at the local level where the capacity is limited. COVID-19 is an excuse to fur­ther exclude the public from decision-making. Purchasing power is also reduced and citizens do not have enough money to buy better quality fuel. One interviewee states that according to Energy Communi­ty reports, one of the main problems and key preconditions for the opening of Chapter 15 in the pre-accession negotia­tions is market liberalisation and deregulation of the gas network. The reorganisation of the public administration is necessary, since this is currently the main barrier for reforms and eco­nomic progress, and especially for a sustainable energy sec­tor. A representative of a local authority states that not enough attention is paid to the capacities at the local level, including financial and technical ones, and people are over­worked.‘One person covers energy, climate and the envi­ronment’, witnessed one NGO respondent. He shared that his organisation advocates for inter-municipal cooperation in areas where there is a lack of capacity as a good practice, which consists of forming joint bodies or entrusting the work of one municipality to another. This instrument is le­gally promoted and underused. Although not in focus, ex­perts on social issues are also needed to create transition policies. Corruption in the energy sector was highlighted by a few re­spondents. Elektroprivreda Srbije(EPS), the state-owned electricity generation company, is a hotbed of corruption and extraction of resources in various ways. The main resist­ance against transition comes from that, and they operate with huge losses, says one interviewee. Corruption is pres­ent and recognised in public in processes for the allocation of incentives as well. According to several interviewees, high pollution is the best way to encourage citizens to participate in transition pro­cesses.‘People only react when their health is mentioned’, 74