During the meeting of the Initiative of Central and South-Eastern European countries on the connectivity of gas systems (CESEC), it was emphasized that the European Commission (EC) proposed a financial instrument Next Generation EU worth 750 billion EUR that will enable the mobilization of private investments in the energy sector.
As announced by the Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development the 7th Ministerial video conference was hosted by the Energy Industry Commissioner Kadri Simson and the Croatian minister of the economy and sustainable development Tomislav Ćorić.
The participants of the meeting expressed their readiness to strengthen regional cooperation, coordination, and solidarity required for solving energy challenges faced by the region. In order to contribute to the economic recovery, the EC proposed the mentioned financial instrument Next Generation EU, valued at 750 billion EUR. It was underscored that investments in the energy sector in the framework of the European Green Plan geared at achieving climate neutrality by 2050 can significantly contribute to recovery and open up the possibility of growth and employment.
the Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development emphasized that “the cooperation of CESEC members demonstrated the importance of investing in mutual energy links in order to deepen market integration and supply safety,” and that CESEC itself will contribute to the establishment of priorities in the region for energy investment and implementation of new projects in support of the green recovery.
In that context, the ministers exchanged opinions on the potentials of renewable energy sources in the CESEC region on the basis of the presentation of the Director-General of the International Agency for Renewable Energy (IRENA). They also talked about the challenges and possibilities linked to the decarbonization of the gas sector with the participation of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).
