Zagreb (AFP) – Balkan nations signed major energy deals involving US firms on Tuesday, as Washington hailed an increased push into a region shifting away from reliance on Russian gas. Deals worth billions were signed by Croatia, Bosnia, and Albania, including a major gas pipeline deal aimed at weaning Sarajevo off Russian supplies.
“This part of Europe is returning to common sense, the path to prosperity is more, not less energy,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at the Three Seas Initiative in Dubrovnik, according to the HINA news agency. The $1.5 billion (1.3 billion euros) pipeline project, signed between Croatia and Bosnia, will connect the latter to the European gas network, and notably to a liquefied natural gas terminal in Croatia that receives a significant amount of US gas. Wright said it was among several other deals signed with Zagreb, which together were “worth billions”.
It came on the same day that Albania signed a 20-year framework agreement for the supply of US LNG, worth $6 billion (5.1 billion euros), US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle said in a post on X. The Balkan nation also signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an energy hub in Vlora, which will include a gas-fired power station, Guilfoyle said. Following the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Edi Rama said the partnership with the United States sent a clear message. “Even small countries can take bold steps and can become part of the solution to some of the most pressing challenges of our time,” he said.
-‘Pressure from US’ – The Croatian-Bosnian pipeline project is being pushed by AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, a company headed by Jesse Binnall, a former lawyer to the US President, and Joseph Flynn, brother of Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. But the pipeline proposal has sparked concern from both Brussels and environmental groups. The European Union’s ambassador to Bosnia, which is a candidate to join the bloc, earlier urged the country to “carefully consider its obligations” when signing energy project contracts.
While dozens of environmental NGOs penned a joint letter ahead of the signing, urging both countries to resist “pressure from the US” and cancel the plan. No construction dates have been announced yet, but the EU’s impending ban on Russian gas imports, due to take effect in 2027, could make the project key for Bosnia.
In a separate agreement also made in Dubrovnik, Croatia’s Rade Koncar signed a letter of intent with the US investment group Pantheon Atlas to build a sprawling AI development and data centre in the centre of the country. With a planned capacity of one gigawatt and an estimated value of 50 billion euros ($58.6 billion), the facility is scheduled to begin construction in 2027, pending upgrades to the grid and permits.
© 2024 AFP
