North Macedonia, Croatia agree to upgrade cooperation in energy

North Macedonian Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Božinovska and her Croatian counterpart, Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar, signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the energy sector, as part of the visit of a top Croatian delegation led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. At a ceremony in Ohrid, they expressed willingness to exchange knowledge and work together on energy security, interconnections, renewables uptake, decarbonization and electricity market integration.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The official visit of the Croatian delegation was rounded off at a business forum in Ohrid with representatives of businesses from both countries.

North Macedonian Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Božinovska and her Croatian counterpart, Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar, signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the energy sector.

“Energy today is one of the most important strategic areas for Europe and the entire region. The war in Ukraine, as well as the developments in the Middle East, have clearly shown that energy security is no longer just an economic issue, but also a geopolitical and security issue. Therefore, countries that know how to cooperate, invest and build joint infrastructure projects will be stronger, more stable and more resilient to future challenges,” Božinovska told the forum participants.

Framework for improvement in cooperation

The memorandum is the result of friendly relations and long-standing mutual cooperation, based on North Macedonia’s strategic commitment to European Union membership, obligations under the Energy Community Treaty and the importance of gradual alignment with the EU energy legislation, the ministry said.

The two countries expressed willingness to exchange knowledge and work together on strengthening energy security and regional interconnections, promoting the integration of renewable energy sources and the transition to low-carbon systems, integrating the electricity market, convergence with EU rules, and institutional capacity building.

Plenković: Energy is one of key topics for EU

Plenković pointed out that energy is one of the key topics for the EU, especially after the several big crises in past years. In his view, the new memorandum will facilitate the strengthening of the connections between the two countries in the sector.

Minister Šušnjar added that Croatia is establishing itself as a regional energy hub and that it is willing to share its experiences from the EU energy market integration, aiming to strongly support North Macedonia’s European path.