The European Court of Auditors notes that the Union is unlikely to meet its objective of having at least one renewables‑based energy community in every municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants by 2025. At the beginning of 2025, only 27% of the target had been achieved, and monitoring systems remain incomplete. The audit also concludes that the expected contribution of these initiatives to renewable generation was overestimated, as updated national projections indicate shares far below those set out in the 2016 impact assessment.

The report highlights the persistent ambiguity in the definitions of renewable and citizen energy communities, which has resulted in inconsistent national transposition. Two of the four audited Member States apply concepts that diverge from the EU framework, while apartment buildings — home to almost half of the EU population — lack clear pathways for collective renewable production and energy sharing.

The auditors also found that several of the examined Member States have not completed the mandatory assessments of barriers and potential for energy communities, and that guidance intended for citizens and vulnerable households is applied unevenly.

For this reason, the European Court of Auditors, through Special Report 10/2026, sets out six recommendations to address these shortcomings, intending to increase citizen participation in energy communities, reduce energy poverty, and contribute to the EU’s renewable energy objective.