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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serious economic consequences of ban on import of Russian oil

Belgrade, 7 October 2022

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today that it is encouraging that the European Union (EU) decided to postpone its decision on banning the import of Russian oil for the countries of the Western Balkans, including Serbia, until 1 December and underlined that until then difficult talks will be conducted.

In a guest appearance on Television Prva, Brnabic said that Croatia, with its request that Serbia be included in the eight package of sanctions against Russia, which entails the import of Russian oil and from which some EU member states are exempted, has openly shown that it is a hostile country towards Serbia.

She underlined that if these sanctions are imposed, that will have serious consequences on our economy, and that the decision not to exempt Serbia is a political decision by the EU and is meaningless.

The Prime Minister underlined that Serbia has one month and a half more to try to avoid being included in these sanctions and added that she hopes that the EU will not ban import of any oil into Serbia because of the majority Russian ownership of the Serbian Oil Industry NIS.

Brnabic said that NIS currently has no problems with the suppliers from the EU, but that it is being discussed with Gazprom Neft about Serbia taking over the company in order to avoid such scenarios.

According to the Prime Minister, it was expected and agreed that Serbia be exempted from the eight package of sanctions, but it turned out differently. However, she voiced the hope that the EU will understand that it would be unfair not to exempt us, especially since Serbia is in a specific situation.

She said that JANAF is the only pipeline through which we are getting oil and for which we are paying between €45 million and €48 million every year and added that 70 percent of JANAF’s capacity is intended for Serbia, but Croatia is abusing it for political purposes.

Commenting on the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia to Belgrade, Brnabic said that Serbia can rely on that country and that a responsible policy of our country creates partnerships that we have never had and thus we are positioning ourselves strategically in a smart way.

She also pointed to quality partnerships with Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and China and added that we maintain traditionally developed relations with the EU. When it comes to the United States of America, our bilateral relations are the best in 30 years, despite disagreements regarding Kosovo and Metohija.

The Prime Minister pointed out that today is an important day because a production plant of the German manufacturer of aircraft engines MTU is opening in Nova Pazova, which is an investment worth over €100 million.

According to her, this investment is a sign for all other investors that Serbia is a serious and stable country with quality workforce and smart people.