Sustainable Energy Management as a Pre-requisite for Sustainable Development: The case of the Balkan Countries in the Process of the EU Integration

Sustainable development as a theory, a concept and an idea, is a comprehensive framework for the development of mankind in the future, that is, the attempt to plan future development based on past experience, on the one hand, and objectives that are set to a specific or indefinite period of time on the other. The concept of sustainable development implies the need for reviewing and understanding its complex and multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional and heterogeneous structure, making it one of the most complex social, economic, civil and any other development since the creation of mankind. Any human activity can be observed from different points of view and evaluated on several grounds. Problem of energy security is one of the basic modern challenges in the EU and in the Balkans region. The following main characteristics in the Balkans region were noted: high energy consumption per GDP unit, high values of carbon emission, fossil fuels import dependency, high potential but minimal RES energy production. Further development of regulation framework is a priority for all countries in the region. Respection of the EU regulative in this area is the basic precondition for further stable energy development.