OHRID, April.21 -Balkan heads of state gathered at a Macedonian resort town Friday to push for collective energy security against a backdrop of growing power shortages that could hamper the region’s efforts to catch up economically with the rest of Europe.
The leaders were set to declare political solidarity in the event of a local or global energy crisis. The draft declaration also reaffirms the Western Balkan states’ intention to integrate more closely with European institutions including the European Union.
It also describes energy stability as crucial for economic development and political stability, and advocates transparency and market principles for suppliers and users.
The summit brought together six presidents -Alfred Moisiu of Albania, Stipe Mesic of Croatia, Boris Tadic of Serbia, Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, Branko Crvenkovski of host country Macedonia and Nebojsa Radmanovic, representing Bosnia-Herzegovina’s rotating presidency -along with Bulgaria’s vice president, Angel Marin.
Romanian President Traian Basescu was a late cancellation because of impending impeachment hearings in Bucharest.
Why energy
Macedonia chose to focus on energy instead of other recurring problems, like organized crime and corruption, when setting the agenda for the summit, said Stevo Pendarovski, foreign affairs adviser for the Macedonian presidency. “For many years, we dealt with questions from the past. The feeling now is that Macedonia should initiate something new, not just follow the old Balkan agenda,” he said Thursday. Modernizing quickly, however, has been jeopardized by a looming energy shortfall more than a decade after the Dayton accords ended the bloody conflicts that followed Yugoslavia’s breakup. Five of the six former Yugoslav republics are represented here, minus only Slovenia. “We are facing serious problems in the energy field,” Pendarovski said. “Our region is not rich with energy resources, we all import oil. We need a stable supply of sources and more use of renewable energies.”
A traditional discussion
The summit is the Balkan leaders’ third gathering in a year, following summits on tourism last year in Durres, Albania and combating terrorism and organized crime last October near Belgrade. The region was hit by the E.U.-mandated closure on Jan. 1 of two reactors at Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The safety-related shutdown drastically reduced electricity exports from Bulgaria, previously a major producer -causing shortages in nearby countries and raising fears of more blackouts this summer.
Meanwhile, a winter drought has reduced hydroelectric production, while other planned infrastructure -the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, the private AMBO oil link proposed between Bulgaria and Albania and a new Bulgarian nuclear plant -are years from going online. Macedonia is also pushing a privatization agenda.
“We would like to see less state intervention, and we are promoting initiatives in this area,” including tenders for 60 small hydroelectric facilities, Pendarovski said.
“It is something, but it cannot solve the whole problem. We have to appeal to foreign companies” for investments, he said. The meeting advances the aims of the Energy Community Treaty, signed in October 2005, which extends the EU’ s internal energy market into southeastern Europe to develop networks, balance supply and demand and promote efficiency. It is also seen as a precursor for future E.U. membership. Balkan leaders pledged to press for greater energy investment to ensure their countries could have more stable power supplies while reducing their reliance on foreign energy.
Relying on outside sources
A secure energy supply is “critical … and an essential component” in maintaining stability in the region, which has seen several wars in the past decades, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski said during a regional summit on the issue. However, he admitted that energy supplies were a critical problem in a country that is reliant on imports for 60 percent of its power. “Macedonia has limited and insufficient resources,” Crvenkovski said, adding that his country would “spare no efforts” to ensure it becomes a major transit route for oil and gas pipelines, including a proposed oil link between Bulgaria and Albania and gas projects linking Europe with central Asian suppliers via Turkey. Countries in the region rely heavily on Russian oil, while domestic supplies consist largely of low-quality lignite. Bulgaria can no longer cover its energy deficits after the closure of two units of its Kozloduy nuclear power plant, leading to chain-reaction power shortfalls in neighboring countries.
Energy crisis
Albanian President Alfred Moisiu said his country, which is 50 percent energy dependent, suffered shortages this winter made worse by a lack of regional cooperation. “The crisis became even more serious when … it was impossible to find a regional market of power buying and supply,” he said. If the Balkan countries fail to boost supply, he said, “we will always have energy crises.” Bosnian President Nebojsa Radmanovic said his country’s main aim was to increase its capabilities for electrical power and to create a common market with other Balkan countries in order to attract investors.
