Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia: There is No Lay-Off Plan in EPS, We Are Not Interested in Purchase

There is no plan for mass lay-offs in Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), and companies from Norway are not interested in purchasing EPS, said the ambassador of Norway to Serbia, Jorn Eugen Gjelstad, as reported on the Danas daily’s portal.

– There is not such thing as a mass lay-off plan. The focus is on improving the company’s performance. The management has to be professional and efficient and recruited meritocratically so as to best respond to the current and future challenges of EPS – said Gjelstad on the occasion of the appointing of three Norwegian experts as members of the Supervisory Board of EPS.

He added that companies from Norway were not interested in purchasing EPS and that the Norwegian engagement in reforming and restructuring the energy sector of Serbia “is a result of the requests of the Serbian authorities, rooted in a strategic partnership.”

Gjestad said that Norway “is happy to be able to share its experiences in professional management and improved performance in the energy sector.”

– What we can do is tell you what has worked for Norway. Ultimately, however, it is not Norway, but the Government of Serbia, that needs to make decisions and set the course for the reforms – Gjelstad said.

When asked whether the Norwegian company Rystad Energy, as the consultant to the Government of Serbia in this matter, would recommend the privatization of EPS, Gjelstad said that, to his knowledge, the ownership of the company had not been discussed and that Rystad Energy was focused on improving the company’s performances, and not on its sale.

Responding to the question whether Rystad Energy would recommend splitting EPS into three parts, that is, forming companies which would produce electricity from coal, water and renewable sources, Gjelstad said that it was up to the Supervisory Board to decide which organizational model would best serve the company.

He pointed out that the CEO would be appointed by the Supervisory Board and that he believed and that its members hoped that they would see good candidates both within and outside the company.

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Ambasada Kraljevine Norveške u Beogradu

Elektroprivreda Srbije

EPS

Norwegian embassy in Serbia

Rystad Energy

Jorn Eugen Gjelstad

privatization of EPS