EU Pushes for Balkan Gas Market

Regional energy integration, specifically of gas markets, was the message at a recent international forum in Belgrade from the Energy Community.

The Energy Community (also known as the Energy Community of South East Europe) is a community established between the EU and nine contracting parties to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe, the Black Sea region and beyond. 

At the forum, a High Level Reflection Group to speed up the process was created with former Premier of Poland Jerzy Buzek appointed as head of the group. 35 Projects of Energy Community Interest (PECIs) were announced including 14 on electricity production, 9 on electricity connections, 10 natural gas projects and 2 oil related. The main criteria for each include the capacity for interlinking the fragmented Balkan market and the better operation of local regulatory framework.

Thus, in terms of the natural gas market, emphasis was placed on the interconnectors between Greece-Bulgaria-Romania-Serbia. Moreover it was noted that South Stream is a project of importance since it will provide the market with more available gas, whilst it will also link the isolated markets of FYROM and Croatia and at later stages, those of Montenegro and Kosovo.

Further, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline was noted as a high interest project, along with the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) that will put Albania into the gas markets, and will also assist in diversifying the rest of the Western Balkans in terms of supply options. Nevertheless it was noted by delegates that as far as IAP is concerned a possible conflict between it and South Stream may be visible in the coming period, due to the relative small markets at hand and the great amounts to be delivered, especially by the latter. In that sense one can note that TAP and South Stream are two projects that could go hand in hand in the region. South Stream aims to bypass Ukraine and deliver extra quantities of gas that are expected to be needed in the Balkans and in the EU in the coming decade due to increased consumption, while TAP is directed towards two counties not related to South Stream (Greece-Albania) and to Italy, which will likely need extra gas quantities in order to ease its dependence on unsecured Libyan gas. 

Lastly the use of interconnectors, including those mentioned previously, as well as plans to link Croatia, Hungary as far as Ukraine, will also add to the creation of a natural gas hub in South East Europe that will stimulate competition and help decrease prices. The overall picture in the mid and long-term is to mimic the advances of the Northern and Western European gas hubs and interlink the entire EU gas system into one single market, where security of supplies is assured, along with price stability in affordable indexes.