The energy situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate and Belgrade expects the possible imposition of secondary sanctions against the banking sector in the wake of the NIS crisis. This was stated by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in Brussels.
„We are in an extremely difficult energy situation. "It's already difficult for us and it will become more difficult with each passing day," he told Serbian journalists.
Vucic recalled that 62 days had passed since "not a single drop of oil had reached Serbian refineries", and stressed that Belgrade was preparing for further complications. "The only question is when the warning of secondary sanctions for the Central Bank and commercial banks will be issued," the president said.
He added that under these circumstances the authorities were forced to look for alternative routes for fuel supplies. “We discussed where, in what quantities and how we can import petroleum products from Romania, Bulgaria and neighboring countries, as well as the challenges we face in the future“, Vucic concluded.
Earlier, the head of state warned that the termination of NIS's activities could have serious consequences for the country's economy and would affect “literally the entire life cycle“ of Serbia - from the banking sector to energy and healthcare. The head of state announced that the National Bank and commercial banks had been warned of the risk of secondary sanctions, which could lead to “a complete suspension of payment transactions“ and card operations. He noted that Belgrade has received verbal assurances from the US that such measures will not be applied, but no official decision has been made yet.
On December 8, Vučić stressed that the Serbian authorities are ready to intervene in a timely manner and make a coordinated decision on the situation around NIS, as well as that the government and all relevant agencies are in constant communication due to the deteriorating energy situation. In this regard, the Minister of Energy noted that 51 settlements in Serbia do not have alternative supply besides NIS gas stations, which poses a serious challenge for the country's leadership.
In January, the US Treasury Department added “Gazprom Neft“, the company's CEO Alexander Dyukov and the Serbian NIS to the sanctions list. After several delays, the restrictions came into effect on October 9. At an extraordinary government meeting on November 16, the Minister of Finance urged the President to consider nationalizing NIS due to the growing pressure and threats to the country's economy.
NIS's main production facilities are located in Serbia, as well as in Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Romania. The majority shareholders are „Gazprom Neft“ (44.85%), Serbia (29.87%) and Intelligence JSC from St. Petersburg, which is managed by „Gazprom Capital“ (11.3%).
On November 11, the Serbian Ministry of Energy announced that the Russian owners of NIS had notified the US Treasury Department of their readiness to transfer control of the company to a third party. On December 2, Vučić announced that Belgrade had not received a license from Washington to supply oil to NIS. The company later announced the closure of its oil refinery in the Serbian city of Pančevo due to US sanctions and a lack of raw materials.