Serbia Pursues EU Gas Alternatives Amid Reduced Russian Supply

Serbia's Energy Diversification Efforts

By Edward McAllister and Aleksandar Vasovic

Balancing Relations with Russia and the EU

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Serbia is diversifying its energy supply away from Russia and is already in talks to buy natural gas via a European Union purchasing mechanism, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday in an interview with Reuters. 

Judicial Reforms and EU Membership Aspirations

The Balkan country, which wants to join the EU, is one of Europe's few remaining buyers of Russian natural gas - over 80% of its supplies come from there.

Political Landscape and Future Prospects

But the EU has pressured Serbia to find alternatives as it tries to reduce cash flows to President Vladimir Putin's Ukraine war chest.

Serbia failed to secure a new long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom last year, and a short-term deal reached in December expires on March 31.

Vucic said he understood EU policy towards Russian energy, saying "we have to adjust our energy policies to certain demands and requests."

"Still we will have big quantities of Russian gas, but we are taking more and more from Europeans," Vucic added in an interview at the presidency in Belgrade, flanked by an EU flag.

He said Serbia was aiming to secure 500 million cubic metres of gas annually, about a fifth of its needs, under the EU's communal gas-buying initiative, which it joined last year.

Serbia is already purchasing gas from Azerbaijan, via Bulgaria, and construction of a gas pipeline to North Macedonia that would give Serbia access to liquefied natural gas from Greece should start this year, he said.

An oil pipeline linking Serbia and neighboring Romania is expected to be completed in 2027.

"This is a big diversification," Vucic said.

BALANCING RUSSIA AND THE EU 

Serbia fosters historic cultural and religious ties with Russia.

Moscow supports Belgrade in its opposition to the independence of Kosovo, a former, predominantly Albanian, southern province. Vucic has sought to balance relations with the Kremlin and Serbia's EU membership bid.

That line has become increasingly difficult to walk since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil company was placed under U.S. sanctions, forcing its expected sale to Hungary's MOL.

Meanwhile, Vucic said he is committed to joining the EU. He said the economy had improved, as had living standards and debt levels. 

"No doubt, since I am president, Serbia will be on its EU path," he said.

The EU has long demanded that Serbia must boost the rule of law, media freedoms and root out organised crime and corruption if it wants to join.

Critics say recent reforms to the judicial system would reduce its independence, complicating Serbia's route to EU.

Vucic said authorities are ready to "scrutinise" the disputed set of judicial laws with European bodies.

LOOKING FOR A LEGACY

Vucic, a populist, suffered a political blow when a railway station roof collapsed in Novi Sad in 2024, killing 16 people. The disaster triggered countrywide protests, calling for an end to corruption and early elections.

Vucic acknowledged that graft is a problem in Serbia and is "dissatisfied" with efforts to eradicate it. "It is about corruption in our state institutions... including politicians."

Still he dismissed the demonstrations as a plot by international security agencies - including those from neighbouring Croatia, Albania and Kosovo - to overthrow the government, without providing proof.

Officials from those countries have denied such accusations.

Vucic's second and final term expires in 2027. Amid street protests, he has said he will call snap elections this year.

He said he was not sure what he would do next, but did not rule out returning to party politics or seeking to become prime minister.

"I would like to be less engaged in politics or not at all, but taking care of my legacy might require some sort of engagement, we'll see." 

(Reporting by Edward McAllister, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)