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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

No restrictions on electricity, gas during this winter

Belgrade, 28 December 2021

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today that it is still unknown how much the problems that happened recently at the thermal power plant in Obrenovac will cost the state, but added that it is much less than in 2012 when we had electricity restrictions for the economy.

I believe that at the end of the winter, we will see how we went through all this, the Prime Minister stated, emphasising that the most important thing is that the system is now stable and that we have no restrictions.

Many countries have restrictions or are announcing them. We are still fighting and I believe that we will be able to get through this winter without any restrictions, either electricity or gas, Brnabic pointed out.

The Prime Minister denied the allegations that the price of gas in Serbia will increase twice from 1 January, noting that it was quite clear after the meeting between Presidents of Serbia and Russia Aleksandar Vucic and Vladimir Putin that Serbia has the same gas agreement until 31 May 2022 as well as having the cheapest gas in Europe or one of the cheapest ones.

She also answered the questions of the journalists why the "Jadar" project of Rio Tinto cannot be completely stopped and whether the state has committed itself to that company and now cannot withdraw the project, emphasising that the current government has not in any way obliged, but that the previous government had obliged the state.

Brnabic explained that the previous government had given permits to Rio Tinto since 2004, which, in accordance with the law and government approvals, had invested in the project, and that now the state could not expel them from Serbia.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Rio Tinto had invested between 150 and 200 million dollars by 2013, and that a serious state cannot expel an investor who has received a permit for something according to the law.

As for whether anything was signed on the basis of which we have obligations to Rio Tinto, such a document does not exist, the Prime Minister emphasized and added that the often mentioned memorandum regarding that project explicitly states that Serbian laws must be respected and the highest standards of environmental protection.