lucky time Bosnia to link gas grid to Croatia under US pressure

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Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina — Bosnian parliamentarians on Thursday voted to connect the country’s gas grid with Croatia, with the Balkan nation under pressure from the United States to end its energy dependence on Russia.

Bosnia is entirely reliant on Russian gas, which it receives via the TurkStream pipeline — the only functioning pipeline carrying Russian gas into Europe — and an interconnection with Serbia in the east of the country.

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Washington’s embassy in the Balkan nation congratulated Bosnia after lawmakers from the highly decentralized country’s Bosniak-Croat entity voted through the text.

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Bosnia is made up of two entities, one Serb and one Bosniak-Croat, both with a large degree of autonomy and linked by a weak central government.

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“This is an important moment for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and for the United States. It is an opportunity to address a pressing national security concern of both countries -– BiH’s dependence on Russian gas,” said a statement from the embassy sent just before the vote.

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“The United States does not want any of its friends and partners in Europe exposed to potential Russian blackmail and that includes Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the statement added.

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The country of 3.5 million people consumed 225 million cubic meters of gas in 2023.

Among other things, the project will connect its gas system to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Croatian island of Krk.

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The project would involve building around 180 kilometers (112 miles) of gas pipeline, of which 160 kilometers would be in Bosnia, for an estimated cost of around 200 million euros ($206 million).

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Its creation has been under debate for several years, with the main Bosnian Croat party calling for it to be built by a new, Croat-dominated company.

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In the endlucky time, the project will be managed by the existing public company, which will be reorganized to give more leverage to the Croats.

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