Antic: New energy law will bring investors

BELGRADE - The new energy law will throw the door open wide to investors to put money in the energy sector in Serbia, Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining Aleksandar Antic said in the parliament Friday.

The new law will significantly improve the investment climate in the energy sector, and it will also help create new jobs, which is a priority for the government, Antic said while presenting a draft law on energy that started being debated in the parliament today.

There are a lot of investors from the EU, the U.S. and Russia interested in investing in Serbia's energy sector, Antic said, adding that Serbia would soon begin construction of a new power plant in Kostolac and that there were plans to invest in the Stavalj thermal power plant and mine, with the possibility of large investments in renewable energies thanks to state incentives, all with the aim of reaching the 2020 target of 27 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources.

Starting from January 1, 2015, under the new energy law, Serbia will be fully implementing all measures of the European Union's Third Energy Package relevant to the sectors of gas, electric power and renewable energy sources, which will make Serbia the first country in the region to implement all these provisions, Antic said.

The new law will ensure security and efficiency of supply of energy products to consumers, improve the investment climate, improve operation in the gas and electricity markets, and ensure the participation of foreign entities in the electrical energy market and implementation of European legislation in this area, the minister said.

Antic stressed that the government and the Energy Ministry led a responsible social policy in that area, pointing out that...