The Serbian government adopted its negotiation position for Chapter 15 – Energy in preparation of a an inter-governmental conference as part of the country’s pre-accession talks with the European Union.

A Mining and Energy Ministry press release quoted Minister Zorana Mihailovic as saying that the two main obstacles that prevented the opening of that chapter had been removed. She said that an action plan on mandatory reserves of crude oil and its derivatives had been adopted along with a plan to reorganize the state-owned Srbijagas natural gas provider, adding that this will allow the authorities to align Serbian law with the EU acquis communautaire.

She recalled that laws on renewable energy sources and energy efficiency had been adopted along with changes to the energy law to provide a regulatory framework in line with EU directives.

The Mining and Energy Ministry is coordinating the efforts of the negotiation group for energy.