On February 25th 2022, the European continent woke up to a new and pressing issue of historic magnitude: how to disentangle ourselves from the Russian economy. As a member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, I am acutely familiar with this problem – and the reality that Europe will never achieve this goal without continued U.S. leadership, American goods, and importantly, American energy.
Bosnians unfortunately see our past in Ukraine’s present. We persevered through years of war and genocide. The Siege of Sarajevo lasted 1,425 days – the longest siege in modern history. In fact, this week, I arrive in the U.S. to commemorate a new documentary, titled Kiss the Future, chronicling Bosnia’s resilience throughout the siege. The documentary is fascinating – its name comes from U2 frontman Bono, who is part of the story – but it is also an important reminder that peace must be both earned and defended.
While I am in the U.S., there remains important work to be done. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Europe imported 155 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia (equal to more than 80% of America’s total gas exports in that same year). In the years since, Europe has made great progress, but we still import billions of cubic meters of Russian gas.
Unfortunately, many countries in Europe – Bosnia and Herzegovina included – face a difficult situation in completely ending our reliance on Russian gas. I would like to take a moment here to thank U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken: earlier this year, in January, he wrote in support of a proposed pipeline that would connect Bosnia and Herzegovina to nearby Croatia, and in turn, Western gas imports. Building pipelines such as these must be a crucial focus for Europe and the European Union (EU).
Of course, Bosnians will also need new sources of energy to buy. At a time of massively increasing electricity demand, fueled in part by artificial intelligence, finding that energy is no easy task. Plus, as my country works towards membership in the EU, we will face additional pressure to decarbonize our electrical grid – more than half of our total electricity currently comes from coal. The most realistic answer is to swap from coal to gas.
Altogether, regional stability in Europe is going to be grounded in energy security and economic growth. Without the former, Europe will be in no position to stand up to Russia. That is why I believe North American energy will play a key role in Europe over the next decade. Over the short term, that is primarily going to mean North American gas – which I believe is the best option for the proposed pipeline.
It should come as no surprise that Bosnians would prefer to buy from North America if possible. We see the U.S. as a key ally and still owe deep gratitude for America and NATO’s role in ending the Bosnian war. We also continue to believe that these trade relationships are mutually beneficial – not just for nations, but for citizens too. At a time of global affordability concerns, all Bosnians, regardless of ethnic background, will benefit from affordable and reliable energy.
Sadly, we live in a dangerous world: we Bosnians know this all too well. It is incumbent on all of us to continue standing up to evil. But we should also appreciate the small, beautiful things in life – like your favourite U2 song, realclearenergy.com reports.
