Božinovska Survives the No-Confidence Motion 63 Votes to 19, but the Questions on ESM, the Meters and Čebren Stay Open

Parliament has rejected the interpellation against Sanja Božinovska, the Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources. 19 MPs voted in favour, 63 against, with no abstentions. The motion was filed by Levica and backed by SDSM's MPs as well.

The debate opened far more than a single vote can settle. On the table were the state of ESM, the state power producer, electricity prices, grid fees, the Čebren and Galište hydropower projects, gasification and connecting to the European energy market. Blagoj Bočvarski of SDSM raised the contract linked to electricity meters and EVN, arguing that the public still has no clear answers, and recalled the announcements of gas pipelines, the modernisation of the Negotino thermal plant, and hydrogen. Fatmir Bitiqi argued that the state has no closed financing structure for Čebren and Galište and that delayed market reforms leave domestic producers at a disadvantage.

The opposition also pointed to the delay in integrating the domestic market into the European one and in meeting the obligations of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as well as doubts about the terms under which electricity is bought from solar plants.

Božinovska replied that some of the questions concern the responsibilities of others - the energy companies, the regulator, local government. Her main argument was that the Ministry is a new institution that had to be built "from scratch". "The truth is not established by the number of critical articles or by quotes from Viber, but by the strength of the evidence," she said from the podium. Majority MPs cited the new Energy Law, which defines energy poverty for the first time, subsidies for inverter air conditioners, coal purchases from Kosovo through an intergovernmental agreement, and the restart of the Thessaloniki - Skopje fuel pipeline.

The "that's not our responsibility" argument works in parliament - 63 votes confirmed it. But ESM is a state company, EVN is supervised by the state regulator, and Čebren has been drifting between studies, tenders and concession models for decades. When everyone is responsible for just one piece, nobody answers for the whole.

The interpellation is over, the minister stays. The questions about the price of electricity, ESM's finances, and when Čebren will become anything more than an announcement are exactly where they were before the vote. Except people don't pay for responsibilities - they pay for electricity.