What happens after Serbia is punished with oil imports? Vucic: "We are shocked by double standards"

Photo: Tanjug/HINA/Lana Slivar Dominic, Shutterstock

The Ministry of Mining and Energy already knew that after November 1 it would not be possible to get Russian oil, and that is why domestic refineries and oil companies will, after that date, be supplied from the free market, which Telegraf Biznis previously wrote about, and which has now been confirmed by the ministry.

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The Ministry of Energy issued a statement about how some EU members demanded that Serbia not be exempted from the sixth package of sanctions against Russia.

The Ministry stated that the most important thing is that the oil market and the domestic refineries will have a normal supply and that there will be no interruptions in the supply of fuel.

EU member states voted yesterday in favor of the eighth package of sanctions against Russia, this time aimed at limiting the price of oil that Russia exports to third countries outside the EU.

Reportedly, at the insistence of Croatia, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, that package will also include Serbia because it will no longer be able to import Russian oil through the Janaf pipeline.

"Despite the fact that the proposal of the European Commission provided for an exception from which Serbia would have profited, regarding the Adriatic pipeline (Janaf), Croatia and several other member states made sure that part of the proposal did not pass because it was concluded that there was no justification for it," write Croatian media.

Vucic: I am shocked by the decision

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said that he was shocked by Croatia's decision to stop the import of Russian oil to Serbia through Janaf. The assessment is that Bulgaria, where the Russian Lukoil has a dominant influence on the market, is placed in a privileged position, while Serbia is punished in a brutal way, due to the insistence of Croatia and several other EU members, thus showing the EU to be an unreliable partner.

Photo: Tanjug/HINA/Lana Slivar Dominic

Brnabic: "This is disgraceful"

Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic said that EU's decision is disgraceful, and one that "changes everything."

"At the summit in Prague, the president will be alone against everyone - but I think that the EU will be 'under the fire' by Aleksandar Vucic," said the prime minister.

Where does Serbia import oil from?

All the crude oil that Serbia imports comes by tanker to Krk, and from there it is transported via the Adriatic pipeline to Serbia, along the Danube. From there, via Novi Sad, the oil arrives to the refinery in Pancevo, where it is further processed.

As Telegraf Biznis wrote earlier, until a few months ago, we received almost two-thirds of our oil from Iraq - about 45 percent of the total amount of imports.

10 percent of oil used in Serbia came from Kazakhstan and about 1 percent from Norway. On average, about 15 percent arrived from Russia by tanker, and that oil was significantly cheaper on the market in recent months.

(Telegraf Biznis)