Maribor – The newspaper Večer is concerned in Saturday’s commentary that the Slovenian government is not working on any measures to stem rising energy prices, a global trend which the newspaper says will soon also strongly affect Slovenian households.
The paper is puzzled by an “indifferent” reply about gas prices from a ministry which says this is a free market and Slovenia will discuss the measures at EU level.
The rising energy prices are not just a consequence of market imbalances, but also of geostrategic moves, especially by those who control the amount of gas in the pipelines, Večer says under the headline The Power of Pipelines.
Just like some EU countries, but not Slovenia, started purchasing vaccines outside the EU without waiting for the European Commission during the pandemic, so have some “older European democracies” already taken measures to help households in case energy prices skyrocket.
“The big ones are taking big steps,” Večer says in reference to Germany having concluded a deal on Nord Stream 2 with Russia despite the US’s opposition. “Germany realised a long time ago that strategic alliances at the level of political values would not keep households warm in winter”.
The lessons from the past two years are cruel but also precious for the future, Večer says, adding the coming months will show that in a crisis, a country can only count on itself.
So it would be in Slovenia’s interest to strengthen its own energy sources and to push for having as much important energy infrastructure on its territory as possible, be it pipelines, power lines, roads or railways.
It would thus be right for Slovenia to take part in projects which will improve its position in the long run regardless of who is in power in potential partner states. “This is about a long-term survival policy which goes beyond ideological differences of today’s political parties.”
