The Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 11 approved negotiations on building two new pipelines to supply gas from Russia and Azerbaijan via Serbia and Croatia.
The negotiations are to cover the possible construction of the New Eastern Interconnection gas pipeline, which would enable the purchase of gas from Russia that would be delivered via Serbia.
According to earlier announcements, Russian Gazprom is expected to participate under an agreement signed in 2021 by the Serbian public company Srbijagas and Gas-Res, a company owned by the Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska. The construction cost is estimated at 250 million euros and Gazprom is expected to fund the project.
The government of Republika Srpska and Gas-Res did not respond to RFE/RL's inquiry about how much money it intended to spend on the construction of the gas pipeline.
The question of how ownership of the pipeline would be regulated also remains unclear.
In 2019, Republika Srpska declared the pipeline a "national project of strategic importance." Gas imported through it would be exclusively for consumers in the Republika Srpska.
The second planned gas pipeline to be negotiated is the Southern Interconnection. It would traverse Croatia and deliver gas from Azerbaijan to Bosnia.
The construction of the Southern Interconnection is supported by the United States and the European Union as a project that would reduce Bosnia’s dependence on Russian gas.
The estimated cost of the planned 180-kilometer pipeline is about 100 million euros, and plans call for it to be financed using a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Borjana Kristo, chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, said both projects were supported by a consensus among members of the council. She said the projects aim to "ensure more sources of natural gas supply for the benefit of all Bosnian residents."
A commission was appointed for negotiations of the Eastern Interconnection, while in the case of the Southern Interconnection, the Bosnian federation was asked to pass a law on that gas pipeline urgently, so that a commission could also be elected.
The members of the tripartite presidency, Zeljko Komsic and Denis Becirevic, announced that they will not allow the projects without the prior adoption of the state-level law on gas.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is obliged to adopt the law under agreements it signed with the European Energy Community. The absence of this legislation is one reason why Bosnia has been designated for sanctions by the European Energy Community since the end of 2020.