Meeting of the European political community: LNG terminal makes Croatia a serious energy hub

In the past few years, Croatia has made huge strides in energy independence and security. The strategic decision to increase the capacity of the LNG terminal on Krk, as well as our investments in renewable energy sources and the continuing functionality of the Krško nuclear power plant, make Croatia solidly positioned in terms of climate goals and in terms of energy security, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković attended the 4^th  summit of the European Political Community, which gathered around fifty European leaders at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock.
 
The Prime Minister said that the round table "Energy and connectivity" discussed the reactions of the states to the energy crisis as a result of the brutal Russian aggression against Ukraine, which led to a huge increase in the price of gas and other energy sources.
 
"I reminded of the initiative, among which was Croatia, to limit the maximum price of gas on the European market, which enabled us to first stabilize the large increase in prices, and then to start going down, which I think was very successful" Plenković said.
 
He referred to the Croatian Government's strategic decision to increase the capacity of the LNG terminal on Krk from 3.1 to 6.1 billion cubic meters of gas and to build gas pipelines that will be suitable for transporting hydrogen in the future.
 
Strong energy infrastructure and investments in renewable energy sources
 
He emphasized that the connection with Slovenia, Hungary, the southern interconnection to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the direction to the west that goes from Slovenia to Austria and Bavaria make Croatia relevant in terms of energy, adding that the same is true with the Adriatic oil pipeline.
 
The Prime Minister highlighted the fact that a strong energy infrastructure, along with investments in renewable energy sources - wind energy, solar and geothermal energy, and the continuing functionality of the Krško nuclear power plant, make Croatia solidly positioned both in terms of climate goals and in terms of energy security.
 
Plenković said that the round table also discussed the destroyed energy infrastructure of Ukraine and the help of all countries, not only in terms of energy export but also in the restoration of the recovery of the entire infrastructure.
 
Other topics were also discussed, such as migration, security issues, democratic institutions, as well as the interference of external actors in democratic processes.
 
He added that the meeting of the European Political Community was also a good opportunity for the new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who hosted the meeting, to signal a new political will and desire to renew a more serious dialogue with the EU.
 
Bilateral meetings with Milatović and Radev
 
On the margins of the summit, the Croatian Prime Minister spoke with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović.
 
"At an informal meeting with President Milatović, we reiterated our dissatisfaction with the voting of the resolution on Jasenovac in the Montenegrin parliament," said Plenković.
 
The resolution was supported by 41 representatives of the government, while the opposition and a part of the ruling representatives left the hall, so that almost half of the total of 81 representatives did not attend the vote.
 
Plenković pointed out that such a voting result speaks of great division on the Montenegrin political scene.
 
"President Milatović has a much more reserved attitude and understands that this move was not good for Montenegro, nor for relations with Croatia," Plenković said.

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