ZAGREB, June 19, 2019 – Croatian Energy and Environment Protection Minister Tomislav Ćorić and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Wednesday agreed on setting up a working group tasked with analysing the potential cooperation on the gas markets of the two neighbouring countries.
After their talks in Zagreb on Wednesday morning, Ćorić said that they had discussed the possibilities of developing cooperation between the Croatian and Hungarian gas markets.
We have agreed on establishing a working group consisting of Croatian and Hungarian experts and in the coming months it will analyse potential pros and cons of such form of cooperation, Ćorić said.
The Hungarian minister confirmed that operators of the gas transport systems and national regulators would be included in this task.
This will be the closest cooperation between the Croatian and Hungarian gas markets so far, he added.
I would like underscore that we treat the diversification as a crucial issue. An LNG terminal is a realistic scenario and we believe that partnership can help us to be partners in this project and make it innovative from the view of the energy security of the region of Central Europe. Therefore we have agreed to continue our talks, Szijjarto said.
As for the gas supply diversification, he recalled that Hungary had already expressed readiness to negotiate a possibility for Budapest to have a 25-percent interest in the future company that would run and own the LNG terminal off the Croatian terminal of Krk.
Such cooperation could create a market situation whereby the purchase of the LNG gas at that terminal could be economically visible and competitive for us, the Hungarian minister said.
Ćorić said that he found this form of cooperation a positive step forward.
Such cooperation is expected to result in combination of stakes held by owners and the lease of capacities in the terminal. However, he admitted that there are differences in which steps to be taken in that regard.
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