In the continuation of the sitting adjourned on 18 February 2021, the members of the Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy were presented the Energy Community Secretariat’s Annual Report on Serbia’s progress in the implementation of energy regulations.
The Annual Report was presented by the Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac who reminded the attending that the Energy Community was established in 2006, the contracting parties being the European Union as a whole and eight contracting parties from the South-East Europe and Black Sea region. As one of the founders, Serbia became a member in 2006. The Energy Community Secretariat is obliged to monitor the implementation of the acquis communautaire and the situation in the field of electric power, gas, the environment, renewable energy, oil and energy efficiency.
According to Kopac, the goal is to attract investment into electric power and grid production to ensure a stable and steady energy supply, which is key for economic development and social stability, as well as the establishment of an integrated market, by enabling cross-border energy trade.
Janez Kopac pointed out that Serbia is the leader in the region in the electricity sector and in the field of oil reserves, but has in recent years lost the leadeship in the gas sector and use of renewable energy sources.
He stated that the process of separating EMS has not yet been completed in accordance with the Third Energy Package, but expressed optimism that this will be resolved by changes in the legal framework.
A big problem affecting the entire region, he said is the fact that subsidies for the production of electric power from coal are still higher than the subsidies for electric power from renewable energy sources. He spoke about the sulphur dioxide emission coefficient, which is relatively high and a real problem in the field of environmental protection. In this regard, it is paramount for the large thermal power plants such as Kostolac and Nikola Tesla, and Novi Sad and Pancevo, to have built-in desulphurisation filters. It is necessary to switch as much as possible to renewable energy sources such as solar, water, wind and biomass, he said, expressing satisfaction that a new law on renewable energy sources will soon be submitted to the Assembly.
The sitting was also attended by the Minister of Energy and Mining Prof. Dr Zorana Mihajlovic who reminded the members of the Committee and other participants that a set of four laws related to the field of energy and environmental protection will soon be presented to the MPs. These laws are first and foremost the basis for new investments, especially in renewable energy sources, wind farms and solar panels. She also added that cooperation with the Energy Community and Energy Agency is of great importance for Serbia.
Dejan Popovic, Director of the Republic of Serbia Energy Agency, also spoke at the session, emphasising that the Agency does not have the authority to resolve the issues that the Energy Community Secretariat charges them with.
The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Veroljub Arsic and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Dr Aleksandra Tomic, Gojko Palalic, Jasmina Karanac, Tihomir Petkovic, Adrijana Pupovac, Vesna Stambolic, Snezana Petrovic, Milos Bandjur, Natasa Ljubisic, Sonja Vlahovic, Nevenka Kostadinova, Ana Beloica, Snezana Paunovic, Ugljesa Markovic, Vojislav Vujic and Mina Kitanovic.
