Baden, 8 July 2022 (MIA) – The North Macedonia energy sector faced a tough period due to all the crises occurring not only in the country, but the whole world. As a country we continue to focus our energy policies towards a healthy and clean environment, and energy independence. The Government of North Macedonia adopted the National Energy and Climate Plan, and with the adoption of these documents, the country set its vision and goals within all five dimensions of the European Union, Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi told Friday’s informal Ministerial Meeting of the Energy Community in Baden, Vienna. Bekteshi briefed participants in the meeting that the Ministry of Economy has thus far drafted key legislation in the field of energy, adopted in the period 2018-2020, which includes reform measures for the fulfillment of the energy strategy goals in accordance with the third package of the Directives on Electricity and Natural Gas. “In a very short period we reached practical implementation for a portion of the reform policies, i.e. agreements were signed for the right to use a premium from photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of around 160 MW. We continually track the reform process, and in close cooperation with the Secretariat of the Energy Community we are making significant efforts to draft legislation until the end of the year, which would be in accordance with the Directives on Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency and the Energy Management Regulation, in order to create a favorable environment and the appropriate legal basis for the implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan until 2030, which was adopted by the Government on May 31, 2022, as an operative strategic document,” said Bekteshi. Bekteshi, said the Ministry of Economy, stressed that in the entire process, North Macedonia is making all efforts to fulfill the preconditions as a candidate country and a signatory of the Energy Community Treaty, and it is also proactively involved in the IPA programming. Regarding the supply and storage of gas, one of the biggest challenges currently faced by all countries in the region and Europe, minister Bekteshi said that North Macedonia is included in the new EU Regional Platform for gas supply, which will solve the regional needs for gas and energy, infrastructure, prices, but will also lower the dependence on Russian sources of energy. “With the EU Action Plan, the Regional Platform South, the plan is for Macedonia and Bulgaria to begin the process of signing of the Interconnection Agreement so as to allow access and flow for third parties from alternative sources towards Macedonia considering the transport capacity on the Bulgarian side is entirely leased by Gazprom up until 2030,” said the Ministry of Economy in the press release. Minister Bekteshi said that the Secretariat of the Energy Community expressed its readiness to offer technical aid in the drafting of the interconnection agreement. The European Commission and the Bulgarian Regulator are planning measures, in accordance with the EU regulation, to open Gazprom’s capacities in Bulgaria to member states and Contracting Parties of the Energy Community for the upcoming winter. ad/nn/