Skundric, who visited the headquarters of the Energy Community in Vienna, talked with Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Slavtcho Neykov about regional gas and electricity networks, the harmonisation of energy legislation and the jurisdiction of regulatory agencies in the energy market.
The Minister said that he talked with Neykov about issues related to Serbia’s energy sector and Serbia’s role in the implementation of energy policies, which is a responsibility of the Energy Community as part of the EU.
As a fully-fledged member of the Energy Community, Serbia is practically a member of the EU when it comes to the energy sector, he said.
Serbia wants to resolve vital national and regional energy issues. These issues are related to problems in a stable energy supply and the oil industry, he said.
The Energy Community understands the nature of the problems facing Serbia and the region and is ready to find joint solutions for all problems in order to increase energy efficiency and power supply stability in the region.
If we examine the gas sector we can see the importance of the national gasification plan which includes linking supply networks with neighbouring countries, he said.
Serbia and Bulgaria have an agreement to build the Nis – Dimitrovgrad – Bulgarian border interconnection, and talks on similar agreements have also been held with other countries in the region, he said.
He said that he and Neykov discussed the electricity transfer, the construction of new facilities and the renewable energy sector, in which both Serbia and the Energy Community are interested.
Skundric said that the Pan-European oil pipeline is one of the projects towards which the Energy Community is also inclined and which is of particular interest for Serbia and Romania, voicing his hope that other participating countries will take a more active stance towards its realisation.
The Minister said that they also discussed the issue of electricity supply to Serbs and other non-ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo-Metohija, adding that the Energy Community is willing to provide assistance within its capabilities.
Neykov thanked Skundric for the initiative which the Serbian Minister started during the talks in Vienna, referring to the drafting of a regional strategy in energy.
(Government of Serbia)
