Bečarević's open letter to the Energy Community: When a valve becomes a tool of blackmail

(Patria) - Former minister in the Sarajevo Canton Government Almir Bečarević sent an open letter to the Energy Community (EC), reminding it that it was formed with the aim of faster market and legal adaptation in member states.

One of the goals of forming the EC, as Bečarević stated, is the expansion of the EU's internal energy market to the Southeast European region, therefore the EC Secretariat has the duty and obligation to coordinate, provide guidelines, monitor the fulfillment of obligations, etc. on that path.

"What the EC Secretariat has done regarding the natural gas sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina over these years is to divide BiH into two entities, which, lo and behold, coincide with the entity borders.

Instead of BiH being a country that harmonizes its legislation with EU acquis, the Secretariat individually 'observes and monitors' entities in fulfilling obligations and prepares a report on the gas sector separately, as if the entities have the sovereignty of BiH and as if BiH has transferred its obligations to these same entities to fulfill obligations in joining the EU energy market.

For such a claim, I will present you with just one example from the natural gas sector that shows the entire absurdity of how the EC performs its task and its complete disinterest in making BiH a single energy space, because the state of BiH signed the Treaty establishing the EC, not its entities.

The EC Secretariat, less than three years ago, certified the operator of the transport system in the RS entity, specifically Gas-promet Pale. It was certified based on entity law, and based on which the EC Secretariat gave its consent to this certification.

This was done without the adoption of a state law on gas and without the state of BiH establishing a state gas regulator.

Regarding the announced certification, BH-Gas sent an open letter to the EC Secretariat at the beginning of 2020, in which it very precisely quoted the provisions of the Third Energy Package and presented reasoned arguments for why the certification could not be done without a state regulator, but apparently, we were not 'clear enough'.

To present the obligations from the Third Energy Package to you now would be unusual, because you are the ones who should be taking care of this, not me quoting you the article of the Third Energy Package that talks about it.

Gas-promet is a 'certified transporter' and operates the first 19 kilometers of the gas pipeline, but it cannot perform any system management tasks for this 'certified operator'; Transportgas Srbija does that.

This is the first fact that you are well aware of, but you do not react, because the doctrine of Mr. Kopač, at whose insistence the certification of this transporter was confirmed, has been accepted.

However, based on the same law in the RS entity, Sarajevogas Istočno Sarajevo remained to manage the transport system. Gas is transported through the system of this entity for the next 40 kilometers, RS entity, and this fact is also known to you.

It is also known to you that this transporter does not possess a 'certificate' from the regulator in Trebinje. Both Gas-promet and Sarajevogas Istočno Sarajevo are majority-owned by the RS entity and under the full control of the entity government.

How that control looks is best seen from this announcement by the director of Sarajevogas Istočno Sarajevo.

Why this slightly longer introduction?

Well, to explain to you what is happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina when entity law is 'implemented' and when the entity regulator does not react, and the Energy Community watches everything nicely because it doesn't concern them.

In short, Sarajevogas Istočno Sarajevo is not certified according to RS law, the entity regulator has not issued a decision allowing transport for this company, the entity regulator has not set a tariff for gas transport, although according to that law, it is solely responsible, and the management of the system has been given to Mr. Dodik to decide whether gas will be cut off to the FBiH.

The fact that it is a public service of gas transport does not matter, because the director of Sarajevogas Istočno Sarajevo is the one who determines the transport price, he is the one who, contrary to RS law, can be a transporter, and his boss is the one who gives approval for gas to still go to the FBiH.

I forgot, it all started with Mr. Elek threatening to shut off the valves on January 1, 2024, because there was no signed contract with Energoinvest, and gas is still being transported through the pipeline even though there is still no contract.

This is what the Bosnian reality looks like, to which the Energy Community has given its consent, and one entity has taken over the state's obligations, and one entity president is the owner of the valve in Zvornik.

I hope you understand why we have been warning for years about the need to adopt a state law on gas, not entity solutions, because the valve in Zvornik is a tool of blackmail when someone wants a larger amount of money through their income.

Gas-promet cannot perform the basic functions of a transport system operator, and Sarajevogas Istočno Sarajevo can blackmail by shutting off the valves, because its regulator is under the control of the RS president, as is the valve itself.

The only remaining question here is what the role of the Energy Community is in this charade of 'fulfilling' obligations for Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the European Union," Almir Bečarević stated in his open letter.