Members of the Committee were informed of the programme of activities of the Ministry of Mining and Energy at the fifth session of the Industry Committee, held on 14 April.

The Minster of Mining and Energy, Radomir Naumov, explained the Ministry’s plans for ensuring sustainable growth in the energy sector.

According to Minister Naumov, public debate on the Draft Energy Bill and the Draft Bill Amending and Modifying the Mining Act was set to commence, while the Ministry was preparing the Energy Development Strategy of Serbia to 2015 and the Programme for the Consolidation of Coal Mines, to regulate the status of coal pits. The coming period is expected to see the drafting of the Pipeline Transport of Liquid and Gaseous Carbohydrates Bill and the Bill Amending and Modifying the Geological Exploration Bill.

Vladimir Djordjevic, CEO of Elektroprivreda Srbije Public Enterprise, Serbia’s national power generation company, informed the Committee of the company’s problems. About 7,000 people from Kosovo and Metohia are employed by the company, of which only around 200 actually work in some areas of the province, while another 800 work in other parts of the Republic. The company is heavily indebted because of the formerly unrealistically low price of electricity, and another problem is the inability to repay debts owed by consumers, especially corporate ones.

The inability to repay debts owed by industrial consumers is also a problem for Naftna industrija Srbije Public Enterprise, Serbia’s national oil corporation, according to Zeljko Popovic, the company’s CEO. The corporation had financed reconstruction after the 1999 NATO bombing campaign, which was not later compensated from the budget. Mr Popovic stressed that investment was necessary in order to keep Naftna inudustrija Srbije competitive.