Four energy projects adopted at summit in Vienna

Four projects aimed at developing electric power networks in the region and three measures that should contribute to greater regional cooperation in that field were adopted at the Western Balkans Summit in Vienna, Janez Kopac, the director of the Energy Community Secretariat, said Friday (28 August 2015).
- The EU has promised a total of EUR 200 million for energy and traffic infrastructure projects in 2015 - Kopac told EurAktiv.
Kopac said that one of the four adopted projects was focused on the development of Serbia's electric power network, that is, construction of part of the Trans-Balkan Power Corridor on its territory.
The second project concerns the development of network on that corridor in Montenegro, said Kopac.
The Trans-Balkan Power Corridor should connect Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina using high-voltage long-distance power lines and then connect them with the undersea transmission line that connects Montenegro and Italy.
The other two projects focus on the development of network in Macedonia and Albania, said Kopac.
Kopac noted that the summit in Vienna was dedicated to electric power projects, adding that the construction of gas pipeline between Serbia and Bulgaria was made a priority at a meeting between the energy ministers of the countries of central and southeast Europe in Dubrovnik in July.
According to him, the region promised to work on the establishment of regional electricity stock exchange and regional balancing market.
Kopac said that the next meeting of Western Balkan countries in Paris, which would most probably be held in late July 2016, should provide an opportunity to see if some concrete progress had been made, that is, whether the measures had been applied or not.

Energy Community Secretariat

Janez Kopac

Trans Balkan Power Corridor

Serbia Bulgaria gas pipeline

regional electricity stock exchange