Regulatory readiness is becoming the central issue for Serbian exporters as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism moves from preparation to payments. Industry representatives at the Belgrade Energy Forum in 2024 said companies are willing to decarbonize, but they lack national policy tools that would make compliance feasible and protect jobs. The discussion highlighted how CBAM interacts with domestic carbon pricing, emissions trading expectations, and the wider European Green Deal agenda.
CBAM compliance timeline raises the stakes for exporters
The CBAM is designed to levy charges on certain imports into the EU based on their carbon footprint, with the stated goal of preventing carbon leakage and supporting fair competition. For Serbian firms, the first operational step is tied to a reporting obligation: from October 1, 2023, they must measure CO2 emissions for goods exported to the EU. A later phase then introduces financial liability, with payment of carbon border taxes scheduled for January 1, 2026. Industry participants said this sequencing makes early data collection and regulatory alignment decisive for avoiding disruption.
Companies stressed that the impact is not confined to corporate balance sheets. The CBAM-related transition is expected to directly affect more than 15,000 employees in Serbia’s key CBAM-relevant industries and indirectly influence over 50,000 workers through supply chains and downstream activity. That scale has sharpened attention on whether Serbia can build administrative capacity quickly enough to meet EU requirements.
Sector-by-sector decarbonization pressures
In cement, producers argue that regulatory support matters as much as investment capital. Panelists pointed to emission sources linked to calcium carbonate in raw materials, fossil fuels used for thermal energy, and logistics. Dimitrije Knjeginjić, CEO of Lafarge Serbia, said existing solutions should be adopted from EU practice while barriers that hinder decarbonization and alternative fuel use are removed. He also argued that circular-economy integration and approval for cogeneration at cement plants would materially support emissions reductions.
Steel stakeholders warned that without a national carbon pricing scheme, Serbian markets could face competitive pressure from imports produced in jurisdictions without comparable duties. Branko Zečević of Metalfer Group said his company has invested in reducing its carbon footprint and called for EU-aligned rules that reduce the risk of market dumping. For importers and traders, the concern is that CBAM costs could be unevenly reflected across supply origins if domestic policy does not close the gap.
In mineral fertilizers, Elixir Group’s Vice President Matthias Predojević emphasized ongoing decarbonization efforts alongside a need to integrate waste products more effectively into production cycles. He said the company plans investments in renewable energy projects and waste management facilities to support sustainable operations. Technical gases producers raised a different constraint: electricity dependence combined with slow permitting for green power procurement.
Messer Tehnogas said its ability to secure renewable electricity is constrained by lengthy permitting processes. Mirjana Jukić, Head of Procurement, called for streamlined regulations that would enable investments in renewable energy sources while ensuring future compliance with carbon taxes. The electricity bottleneck is particularly relevant across multiple industrial users because it can determine whether decarbonization pathways remain cost-competitive under evolving carbon-related obligations.
Policy asks: EU harmonization, green power permitting, circular economy
Beyond company-level measures, panelists urged Serbia’s government to align national regulations with EU standards, with emphasis on full implementation of the Law on Climate Change. They also called for establishing a system similar in function to the EU Emissions Trading System so that CO2 taxes can be levied domestically. Supporters argued this would help protect the Serbian market from unfair competition and strengthen conditions for a transition toward a green economy.
Participants also focused on how quickly renewable energy projects can move from planning to operation. Companies including Lafarge Serbia and Messer Tehnogas indicated they are ready to invest in solar power and other green energy options but face bureaucratic delays. They asked for simplified procedures for self-consumption energy projects and incentives that would speed up green investment decisions.
Circular economy measures were another recurring theme. Industry representatives said regulations often allow valuable waste materials to be exported rather than used within Serbia, limiting domestic resource efficiency gains. They argued that strengthening local waste management infrastructure and ensuring waste products are utilized in-country would reduce CO2 emissions while improving material efficiency—an approach that can complement industrial decarbonization efforts across sectors covered by CBAM.
Broader implications for EU ETS operators and trade compliance
The Serbian discussions underscore how CBAM compliance depends on more than emissions accounting; it requires policy coherence across carbon pricing expectations, permitting capacity for low-carbon energy supply, and waste-to-resource pathways. For importers and exporters dealing with CBAM-covered goods such as cement, steel, aluminium-related value chains where applicable under CBAM scope, mineral fertilizers, electricity-linked inputs, and hydrogen-related developments, documentation readiness becomes a competitive variable as deadlines approach.
For EU producers operating under the EU ETS framework and the broader European Green Deal architecture, these developments matter because they influence how third-country supply responds to carbon costs at the border. In practical terms, harmonized domestic policy in Serbia—paired with faster green energy deployment—could reduce volatility in trade flows while supporting more predictable compliance outcomes across both sides of the market.