Pusić: Energy independence important economic and political issue

(Hina) - Energy independence is an important economic and political issue, as shown by the crisis in Ukraine, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić said in her opening remarks at an energy forum in Zagreb on Wednesday

(Hina) - Energy independence is an important economic and political issue, as shown by the crisis in Ukraine, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić said in her opening remarks at an energy forum in Zagreb on Wednesday.

"Energy policy has become an issue of economic and political independence (...), a fundamental issue of a country's freedom to make its own decisions and secure space in which its citizens will feel safe and free," Pusić said at the opening of the Brown Forum, which is being held in Zagreb on Wednesday and Thursday. The main theme of the forum is the energy future of Southeast Europe.

Pusic said that a year ago Croatia did not exist on the energy map of Europe while today it was important because it was developing three energy projects -- an LNG terminal, oil and gas exploration and exploitation of the Adriatic Sea, and a southern route for the delivery of Azerbaijani and Eastern Mediterranean gas to Europe by a trans-Adriatic pipeline.

"The security and future of this part of the world depends on the topic which you will be discussing here at the Brown Forum," she said.

Pusić said that Croatia was working on ensuring its energy security, which "automatically means security for the region and for Central Europe as well." "From the Adriatic to the Baltic, it's a new, originally European gas source, supplier and route. Gas can become an element of independence of this part of Europe," she added.

"This is also a question of Europe's future, because without a safe and stable Southeast, Eastern and Central Europe, Europe does not exist. This means that without a successful energy policy Europe does not exist," Pusić said. "No country is isolated and completely energy independent, which is why the European partnership is also important, just as is its prospect of expansion," she added.

Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak said that "we are facing great challenges to help not just Croatia's economic development but also this part of Europe."

The Brown Forum has been held in Croatia since 2011 in tribute to US Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown who was killed in a plane crash near Dubrovnik in April 1996 while on a mission to promote democracy and trade in Southeast Europe. The forum is organised by the US Embassy, the Croatian Employers' Association and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

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