The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has reportedly approved and signed off on a loan of EUR 300 mln to Serbian national power company EPS to bolster liquidity, which is part of a larger move toward environmental responsibility in the country.
The loan agreement signing took place March 16 in the presence of EPS General Manager Miroslav Tomašević and EBRD representatives Matteo Colangeli and Grzegorz Zieliński. The signing also took place in the presence of Serbian Minister of Energy Dubravka Djedovic and Serbian Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali.
Djedovic remarked on efforts to move away from dependence on coal, stating that the country would like the power sector to become carbon free by 2050, according to Serbia’s www.021rs website.
“Strategic decisions are ahead of us, and we need to [implement] state-owned companies in the energy sector,” Deidovic said. “[Thus financing is needed] like in the form of today’s EUR 300 mln [financing package] signed with the EBRD.
Djedovic also referred to Serbia’s current energy crisis, and noted that the cash injection will aid with difficulties faced by both Serbia and Europe since the advent of the war in Ukraine.
Noteworthy also is that not only will the loan aid in EPS liquidity, but the EBRD has also promised technical know-how on a wide range of topics, ranging from creating a strategy to move away from dependence on coal to that of environmental and corporate governance reporting.
File photo of Serbian Minister of Economy Dubravka Djedovic and US Ambassador Christopher Hill by USAID, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
