Croatia must help strengthen EU's energy security by upgrading its gas pipeline, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, reportedly told Jutarnji List daily in an interview summarized and disseminated by state agency Hina.

“Energy supply and the issue of secure and reliable energy sources have come to forefront of concerns in the EU amid the ongoing Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia. After the global financial crisis and the health crisis caused by coronavirus, the energy security crisis is a new test for the EU’s internal strength and resilience, with crucial decisions in dealing with that crisis being expected from the European Commission,” Hina said, probably citing Jutarnji List’s introduction.

In her interview for Jutarnji List, Von der Leyen spoke about what the European Commission  planned to do to alleviate the impact of the crisis on living standards and competitiveness of the businesses, as well as Croatia’s role in this.

Asked “what should be done to prevent the crisis from causing irreparable damage to the EU economy and way of life,” Von der Leyen said that “short-term as well as medium- and long-term measures were being implemented,” Hina said Jutarnji reported.

As for short-term measures, which concern preparing for the coming winter, EU countries have reached an agreement to coordinate efforts to reduce gas consumption on the EU level.

“The proposal for the EU to cut gas consumption by 15 percent is an exceptionally important part of the agreement as it will help the EU replenish stockpiles before the winter and help stabilize the market,” Hina said that Von der Leyen told Jutarnji List.

She noted that the agreement would also help create a safety net for each member state, thus enabling the full implementation of the principle of energy solidarity that is part of EU treaties. “We are determined to resolve the issue of energy security at the EU level,” she added.

“EU countries understand that their economies are so interconnected that any disruption of supply in one country would have detrimental effects on the whole EU economy, which is why it is important for all EU countries to reduce consumption, increase stockpiles, and be ready to share gas with other members,” Hina said that Von der Leyen told Jutarnji List.

“As part of the European Green Deal we have taken care that everyone benefits from transition to renewable sources of energy, which includes support from the proposed Social Climate Fund, designed for vulnerable consumers,” Von der Leyen added.

Hina did not clarify Von der Leyen’s reported statement about the gas pipeline.