ZAGREB, May 16, 2018 – Gas and electricity prices will remain stable this year, but the state cannot influence the rising price of oil, Minister of Environment Protection and Energy Tomislav Ćorić told an energy summit on Wednesday.
“The price of oil has been going up recently, but that is a matter of global market trends that are spilling on to Croatia. Considering that the market is liberalised, the state doesn’t have any possibility to influence those trends,” Ćorić said at the summit organised by the Večernji List daily and Poslovni Dnevnik business daily.
He said that the state was preparing an energy strategy in line with the legislative framework, first and foremost the Gas Market Act, and that a law on the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons as well as a law on renewable energy sources are expected this year .
He underscored that his ministry’s objective this year is to define the direction of energy trends for the next 15 years, primarily through the preparation of an energy strategy for Croatia. According to Ćorić, it has not been possible to establish domestic production because the legislative framework is not the best. He emphasised that there is potential to increase domestic energy production and to decrease the country’s energy dependence.
