After the information that the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS) and the Hungarian company MVM are establishing a joint venture, the Ministry of Mining and Energy responded strongly denying such allegations. However, a few weeks later, the decision to establish another joint venture, this time between „Srbijagas“ and the Hungarian MVM Group, was made official.
For now, there are not too many details, and Nova’s interlocutors claim that both parties have an interest in such an undertaking. They note that the agreement does not have to be harmful to Serbia in advance, but that it depends on what we invest, and what do they.
The Government of Serbia passed a decision on granting consent for the establishment of the company “SerbHungas” d.o.o., and the decision itself was passed by the Supervisory Board of Srbijagas.
According to Finance Minister Siniša Mali, a large number of agreements were signed on Tuesday at the Strategic Council for Cooperation between Serbia and Hungary in Palić, and among them was this one on the establishment of a joint venture to enter the Serbian market when it comes to gas trade.
A little earlier, information appeared in the public that “Elektroprivreda Srbije” will form a joint venture with a Hungarian company, which the Ministry of Energy denied.
Just a few weeks later, information was made official that a new company would be formed. The data is scant, and the announcement without many details. This raises the question of why a new company is being established now and who benefits from it?
Energy expert Miloš Zdravković explains that too little is known about the formation of a company, but that it does not have to be harmful if our side and the Hungarian side jointly invest money or property, but if our side invests property and the other only money, it is a harmful business.
“It is difficult to comment on the content of the agreement, which is not yet available. MVM is the counterpart of our EPS, only it is much bigger because it also deals with gas. It also includes the Pakš nuclear power plant. It’s a respectable company and creating a company with respectable companies is always a good thing, it’s just a question of what we invest and what the Hungarians invest”, says Nova’s interlocutor and adds:
“If our side and their side invest money, that’s a good option, or if both sides invest property. But it is not right to invest 11 hydroelectric power plants, as in the example of EPS, and they invest money. It is the robbery of the country. So, it is not disputed that we are making joint projects, but it must be known what we are investing in. If we start from the fact that we give property, and they pay, that is absolutely unacceptable”, explains Nova’s interlocutor.
When it comes to potential projects, Zdravković notes that Serbia and Hungary can build gas storage facilities together, but according to him, we still lack information.
Vojislav Vuletić from the Serbian Gas Association has no doubt that both parties have an interest in forming a company.
“The only useful thing we have with the Hungarians is our gas storage with them, because the Banatski Dvor underground storage is 50 percent ours, 50 percent Russian. If we are making an agreement with the Hungarians to use even more space for gas storage, forming a joint venture is a good thing. That company will have a few administrators who will unite the common interests of us and the Hungarians”, claims Vuletić.
When asked what the common interests of the two parties are, Vuletić answers that by far the biggest interest is secure gas supply via the Balkan Stream.
“The entire supply through Ukraine is in front of a big question mark. Gas to the Hungarians goes through Serbia, so it is in their interest that we have good relations to deliver that gas. If the company was created out of mutual interests, then that is the answer,” concludes Vuletić.
The continuation of cooperation between the two sides was also announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijarto, who stated a few months ago that an agreement had been reached that Hungary would store and deliver natural gas to Serbia this year as well.
“Hungary’s secure gas supply ensures transit through Serbia, and we help Serbia by storing several hundred million cubic meters of gas in our warehouses and forwarding it to it when it needs it,” Szijarto stated in March of this year.
Szijarto stated that the strategic partnership and friendship between Hungary and Serbia is largely the reason why Hungary can successfully deal with current problems and challenges.
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