Urgent meeting in Vienna helped untie energy law knot in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Prime ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS) confirmed that they support draft state Law on Electricity Market and Regulator, and will not condition it with any further amendments. The Energy Community Secretariat followed with an announcement that it would reconsider its request for additional measures against BiH.

Both prime ministers, Željka Cvijanović (RS) and Fadil Novalić (FBiH), promised to have a formal position on the draft law: FBiH by 14 December, and RS by the end of this year.

On 30 November, both prime ministers as well as BiH Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović, had an urgent meeting with director general for Energy of the European Commission, Dominique Ristori, and director of the Secretariat of the Energy Community Janez Kopač.

Their gathering in Vienna had a goal to overcome Bosnia and Herzegovina’s breach of the EC law in the gas sector, reported EC.

Over a month ago, Kopač sent a letter to Šarović, Cvijanović and Novalić, warning them that The Ministerial Conference of the Energy Community, scheduled for 14 December, would discuss a possibility of introducing additional sanctions against BIH because the country kept failing to meet obligations under the terms of the Treaty of the Energy Community, in the gas sector at the state level in particular.

At the Vienna meeting, all sides agreed that all comments and concerns of both sides are included in the draft. Federation of BiH requested an additional confirmation by the European Commission on the law’s compliance with the Third Energy Package.

After the meeting, the Secretariat announced that it would reconsider possible sanctions against BiH at the Energy Community Ministerial Council on 14 December 2017, in Priština.

Željka Cvijanović said that there was no discussion in Vienna about possible sanctions against BiH, reported Nezavisne portal, quoting Srna agency. Rather, she said, the topics were related to gas market regulations, establishing a unique methodology at the state level, tariffs, fees and other operational issues.