Deadline to sell Zelezara Smederevo extended until February 15

The Serbian government has got the green light from Brussels for extending negotiations on the sale of Smederevo-based steelworks. As the daily Novosti reports citing unofficial sources, the deadline to end negotiations is extended until February 15th.

James Bouchard, the founder and CEO of Esmark Steel Group, arrived in Serbia on Monday night, and the talks with Serbian officials were supposed to resume Tuesday.

By the way, official deadline to sell the steel mill in Smederevo expired January 31st. After that date, pursuant to the Stabilization and Association Agreement that our country signed with the European Union, the state of Serbia is no longer allowed to help its steel industry.

When asked to comment on speculations that the U.S. company could obtain subsidized electricity tariffs, people at the Mining and Energy Ministry of Serbia shake their head.

- There is simply not enough money in the budget for making kilowatts more affordable for the poor - says Mining nd Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic.

Zelezara Smederevo was first sold to U.S. Steel for USD 23 million in March 2003, while still in bankruptcy, and had been a large exporter by early 2012 with its exports accounting for up to 13% of all exports of Serbia.

The Government of Serbia bought the steelworks in Smederevo in January 2012 for USD 1.

Železara Smederevo d.o.o.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Delegacija Evropske unije u Republici Srbiji Beograd

Esmark Steel Group SAD

U. S. Steel Corporation Pittsburgh

Zelezara Smederevo sale

Esmark steel group USA

United States Steel Corporation

US Steel

James Bouchard

Aleksandar Antic