PM: Energy deal "job well done"

PM Mirko Cvetkovic has lauded the energy agreement with Russia and the sale of the Serbian Oil Industry, stressing that government stability is not threatened. Cvetkovic said that the deal with the Russians, both as a whole and individually, is commercially sound. PM: Energy deal "job well done" He said that many of the aspects that had come in for criticism in public, during the talks, especially in the last seven days, had been turned to Serbia’s benefit. The prime minister said that the pension plan for NIS employees was very good, stressing that guarantees for the Gazprom investment were in place, and that Serbia was legally entitled to terminate the contract if the investment was not forthcoming. According to Cvetkovic, Gazprom will have a monopoly until 2010, and will respect ecological standards. A division of management had also been accepted, he said, so that Serbia had a majority within the Monitoring Committee, and the Russians within the board of directors. “All the contract’s basic parameters suggest that it has been a job well done,“ he underlined. Mirko Cvetkovic (FoNet, archive) Opinions clash on NIS deal While former PM Zoran Zivkovic believes the sale of NIS is in breach of the Constitution, New Serbia leader Velimir Ilic has hailed the contract. The deal with Russian Gazprom has come in for conflicting reactions from various analysts and politicians. While some support the signing, others believe that Serbia has become just another one of Russia’s energy colonies. “One thing is for sure: we sold NIS (Serbian Oil Industry) against the law and probably against the Constitution. The Constitution passed that to parliament to decide on,” Zivkovic said. “The law has been broken because NIS was sold without a tender, through a contract between a state and a company. That must be done through a tender,” he stressed. Ilic, who worked on the deal as a former minister, said that “when two countries make an agreement, that is the greatest guarantee that can exist,” adding that the contract is the best thing that Serbia could have done. “That is respected by every court. The first agreement states that the contract will be signed. And that was confirmed yesterday,” he said. “All three things have to be carried out—the storage facility, the pipeline and NIS,” Ilic underlined.

PM: Energy deal "job well done"

He said that many of the aspects that had come in for criticism in public, during the talks, especially in the last seven days, had been turned to Serbia’s benefit.

The prime minister said that the pension plan for NIS employees was very good, stressing that guarantees for the Gazprom investment were in place, and that Serbia was legally entitled to terminate the contract if the investment was not forthcoming.

According to Cvetković, Gazprom will have a monopoly until 2010, and will respect ecological standards. A division of management had also been accepted, he said, so that Serbia had a majority within the Monitoring Committee, and the Russians within the board of directors.

“All the contract’s basic parameters suggest that it has been a job well done,“ he underlined.

Opinions clash on NIS deal

While former PM Zoran Živković believes the sale of NIS is in breach of the Constitution, New Serbia leader Velimir Ilić has hailed the contract.

The deal with Russian Gazprom has come in for conflicting reactions from various analysts and politicians. While some support the signing, others believe that Serbia has become just another one of Russia’s energy colonies.

“One thing is for sure: we sold NIS (Serbian Oil Industry) against the law and probably against the Constitution. The Constitution passed that to parliament to decide on,” Živković said.

“The law has been broken because NIS was sold without a tender, through a contract between a state and a company. That must be done through a tender,” he stressed.

Ilić, who worked on the deal as a former minister, said that “when two countries make an agreement, that is the greatest guarantee that can exist,” adding that the contract is the best thing that Serbia could have done.

“That is respected by every court. The first agreement states that the contract will be signed. And that was confirmed yesterday,” he said.

“All three things have to be carried out—the storage facility, the pipeline and NIS,” Ilić underlined.