This policy brief highlights the role of national governments in fostering the development of energy communities in their territories overall, and in particular on how to support energy communities in fulfilling their potential for social cohesion. The policy brief first reviews the transposition process of the first-generation EU legislation on energy communities and key aspects of it. It then outlines the new provisions that Member states will need to adopt in the coming years as part of the second-generation EU legislation on energy communities. Lastly, the policy brief offers concrete policy recommendations targeting national-level policymakers in order to boost the development of energy communities and support them in fulfilling their wider social goals. This paper is part of a three-part series on the topic of energy communities and energy poverty, built on the insights of the Sun4All project, with recommendations for the municipal level and for the EU level.