Principles of Circular Economy Need to Be Implemented in Balkans Countries Too

The head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, stated today that Russia’s attack on Ukraine had emphasized the importance of energy independence, because “the resources have become a weapon too”, and that the Union, together with the countries of the Western Balkans, would work to overcome those challenges.

– We need to ask ourselves in what way Russia’s aggression would influence the economy, concretely, the export of gas toward Europe. There’s a question of the diversification of energy resources, because it has turned out that even the resources, that is, energy, have become one of the most important weapons – Giaufret said.

At the conference “Circular Economy, Employment and Digitization in the Light of the Conference on the Future of Europe”, he stated that it was important to prepare for all the potential risks and that the EU wanted to secure the procurement of energy sources.

– We will also work the countries of the Western Balkans in order to be able to handle those risks – said Giaufret.

The solution, according to him, lies in renewable energy sources.

– We will become independent only when we rein in the energy dependence on others – Giaufret pointed out and added that, up till then, in the EU, a sum of EUR 3.1 billion had been invested in projects having to do with digitization and renewable energy sources.

Giaufret said that the way we acted as producers and consumers needed to change, as well as the way we treated waste.

The principles of circular economy, he pointed out, need to also be implemented in the Balkans countries which will become EU members one day.

Delegacija Evropske unije u Republici Srbiji Beograd

Ambasada Republike Francuske Beograd

Ministarstvo za evropske integracije Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja Republike Srbije

EU Delegation to Serbia

Emanuele Giaufret

circular economy

employment

digitization

Conference on the Future of Europe

energy dependence