Without new investments into research and development, Croatia could be left without oil and gas production by 2035, Environment Protection and Energy Minister, Tomislav Coric, said on Friday addressing a conference on Croatia's energy market in the European Energy Union.

According to data presented by Coric, the average fall in oil production in Croatia is about 10 percent, and gas production about 15 percent, annually.

The challenges facing Croatia’s energy policy in the near future include defining an optimum energy mix, adapting to the EU’s energy development goals, and adopting an appropriate legislative framework – primarily, transparent market rules.

The head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia, Branko Baricevic, said that energy and environment protection were primary EU topics. He added it was the vision of the EU that, in the future, energy prices should be more affordable, particularly for those who are socially the most vulnerable.

Cheaper energy can be the result of new technology which requires huge investments in infrastructure across the entire Union, Baricevic said.

Because of that, the EU funds for sustainable energy development for the period 2014 – 2020 amount to €23 billion, he added.

Barbara Doric, the new director of the LNG Croatia company, said that gas would continue to be the dominant source of energy. She added that Croatia was still interesting for foreign investors with regard to energy production and exploitation, above all onshore exploitation.