The importance of promoting energy interconnections in SE Europe was underlined by Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou speaking today at the “Energy Transition Summit – East Med & Southeast Europe” conference.
He referred in particular to cooperation with Northern Macedonia and Serbia for the completion of natural gas interconnections for mutual benefit, and called on the EU to support the integration of all countries in the region into the energy market.
At the same conference, North Macedonia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sanja Bozhinovska said that the gas interconnection under construction with Greece is expected to come into operation in mid-2027, while the interconnection with Serbia will be completed earlier.
The goal of the energy transition does not change, but there is a need to be realistic and not to ignore the energy security factor, the environment and energy minister said initially.
He said the EU has so far approached the energy transition in ethical terms. He added: “It is not a question of morality, the target is given and Greece, despite the economic crisis, has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 50 per cent since 2005. At the same time we need base energy which in Greece is provided by hydrocarbons. Natural gas does not compete with the energy transition but complements it. This is why we are promoting hydrocarbon exploration in the Ionian Sea and at the same time we need to increase energy storage, which is a challenge for all countries.”
