Montenegro and Albania have
received a joint grant amounting to €2.5 million from the Western Balkan Investment
Framework (WBIF) for the conceptual design of the project of the
Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) through these two countries, the government of
Montenegro said on February 22.
WBIF supports
socio-economic development and EU accession across the Western Balkans through
the provision of finance and technical assistance for strategic investments,
particularly in infrastructure, energy efficiency and private sector
development. It is a joint initiative of the EU, International Financial
institutions, bilateral donors and the governments of the Western Balkans.
At a meeting of the Unit
for Project Management, made up of representatives of ministries and gas
transmission system operators of Croatia, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Montenegro’s Economy Minister
Dragica Sekulić
said on February 22 that implementation of the IAP project is to begin in the
second quarter of 2017.
In an effort to reduce
reliance on Russian gas, the European Commission is seeking to diversify energy
imports and increase security of supply. This is a key objective of the
European Energy Security Strategy. In this context, the Southern Gas Corridor
(SGC) is a major initiative to bring Caspian and Central Asian gas resources to
European markets. The Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline can play a role in the Southern
Corridor.
From now on,
representatives of the Energy Community Secretariat will be taking part in the
work of the Unit for Project Management so that IAP will ensure additional
mobility towards the relevant lists of priority projects of the EU and the
region, which means easier financing conditions, the government of Montenegro
said.
The meeting of the Unit for
Project Management was held on the eve of the Third Ministerial Meeting of the
Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku on February 23, which was
attended by European Commission Vice President for Energy Union
Maroš
Šefčovič.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/eu-approves-e2-5-million-grant-ionian-adriatic-pipeline/