New Energy Policy Priority of New Government of Serbia

Candidate for the position of Prime Minister of the new government of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabic stated yesterday that “the work in all areas needs to be continued so that Serbia could keep on getting stronger and stronger, keep on winning and so that the quality of life could continue to improve, regardless of all problems, challenges and adversities that our country is facing”.

In her address to Members of the Serbian parliament, at a special session whose agenda includes the election of the new government and the swearing-in of the Prime Minister and members of the new government, Brnabic pointed out that “no one will be surprised that our absolute priority in the mandate of the new government will be energy, that is, the new energy policy of Serbia”, as announced on the website of the Government of Serbia.

– We are finishing the construction of block B3 of the Kostolac B thermal power plant, which means an additional 350 MW for our energy system. We are completing the construction of a gas interconnection to Bulgaria which will provide us with an alternative route for gas inflow and connect us to the liquefied natural gas terminals in Greece. We are continuing with the construction of the Buk-Bijela hydroelectric power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Electric Power Industry of Republika Srpska, which will mean an additional capacity of up to 115 MW for our power system.

We will have to start building the pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations Bistrica and Djerdap 3, in order to provide balancing for several thousand megawatts from renewable energy sources in the future, as well as to work on the construction of oil pipelines, in order to diversify the source and supply routes, Brnabic said.

All in all, as she pointed out, we will invest about EUR 12 billion in the new energy policy of the Republic of Serbia in the coming years as part of the "Serbia 2025" development plan.

The question is how, in such difficult circumstances, we can continue with capital investments in road and railway infrastructure, increase investments in energy infrastructure, and maintain the trend of continuous growth of salaries and pensions, while doing all this in a fiscally responsible manner, keeping the public debt below 60% of our GDP and gradually reducing the budget deficit, explained Brnabic.

She pointed out that the only answer is - by further increasing our competitiveness and the productivity of our economy, with the assessment that we have room for additional growth in both areas.

– That growth, above all, should be the result of additional improvement of our education system, greater investment in science and innovation, and the use of modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). That is why the implementation of one of the most ambitious projects under the mandate of the future government - BIO4 Campus - is so important to us – she said.

The government must continue with its work on the implementation of the “Serbia 2025” project too.

– Our plan is to complete five motorways and expressways within the next year, including: a section of the Moravian Corridor to Krusevac, the Surcin-Novi Beograd section on the Milos the Great motorway, the ring road around Belgrade to Bubanj Potok, the Valjevo-Lajkovac expressway and the motorway from Ruma to Sabac – Brnabic specified.

She estimated that all of the above is a way to reach the set goal that by 2026, the average salary in Serbia will be EUR 1,000, and the average pension will be EUR 500.

She also pointed out that “Serbia will continue its European path, because Serbia belongs to the family of European nations and countries”. Serbia will also continue to invest in its friendships and partnerships with other countries, she pointed out.

– We will continue to work on the Open Balkans initiative and we hope that Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina will soon join us. The initiative is also open to Pristina, as it will ensure a dialogue on the most important topics for the quality of life of all people in these areas, and therefore the safety of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija – said Ana Brnabic.

She also said that the GDP in 2022 would be around EUR 60 billion.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ana Brnabić

block B3

thermal power plant Kostolac B

gas interconnection to Bulgaria

hydro power plant Buk Bijela

Bistrica

Đerdap 3

construction of reversible hydro power plants

renewable energy sources

Serbia 2025 plan

artificial intelligence

BIO4 campus

Morava Corridor

Miloš Veliki highway

bypass route around Belgrade

average salary in Serbia

average pension in Serbia

Open Balkans