Government of BiH fails to reach consensus on gas interconnections with Serbia, Croatia

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to reach the necessary consensus on starting negotiations with Croatia and Serbia on preliminary drafts of bilateral agreements on the construction of gas interconnections.

BiH’s central government, the Council of Ministers, said it didn’t reach the consensus that would allow it to negotiate with Croatia on a preliminary draft of a planned agreement to build the South Interconnection of BiH and Croatia. The gas pipeline would run from Zagvozd in Croatia through BiH’s border town of Posušje to Novi Travnik and Travnik, with one additional section that would go to Mostar.

There was also no consensus on the proposition for talks with Serbia on a preliminary draft agreement for the construction of the New Eastern Interconnection of BiH and Serbia from the northeastern border through Bijeljina, capital Banja Luka and Prijedor to Novi Grad, which is located on the border with Croatia in the northeast.

The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of BiH will reveal further steps and necessary actions as soon as possible, according to the announcement.

Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Staša Košarac earlier claimed that the deal would be reached as soon as the Government of FBiH formally approves it

Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Staša Košarac earlier claimed that the representatives of the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of BiH, the two entities that make up BiH, have agreed to build gas interconnections both with Serbia and Croatia. In his words, only a formal approval from the Federation of BiH is still needed to close the deal.

FBiH is developing the southern interconnection project in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is worth an estimated EUR 100 million and it would be 180 kilometers long.

The Republic of Srpska and Croatia have recently built a gas pipeline between the border towns of Bosanski Brod and Slavonski Brod, respectively. BiH’s central government was opposed to the project as it wasn’t consulted. The country already has an interconnection with Serbia in Zvornik.