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Energy Community ministers adopt regional energy strategy, appoint new Director of the Energy Community Secretariat

Monday, October 22
The Energy Community, which aims to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond, including into the eastern neighbourhood, yesterday adopted an energy strategy at a meeting in Budva, Montenegro. The strategy is the first step in the process of a streamlined and cost-efficient energy infrastructure planning and development in the region.

The ministers also appointed Mr. Janez Kopac, the former Director General for Energy in Slovenia’s Economy Ministry, as the new Director of the Energy Community Secretariat for a period of three years, starting on 1 December 2012.

The strategy brings together the national strategies and plans of the parties to the Energy Community, which include Ukraine and Moldova, with the existing legal commitments of the Energy Community in the fields of energy, competition and environment.

“With the endorsement of the (Energy Community) Strategy, the Ministerial Council clearly demonstrated the Energy Community’s strong ambitions to move towards a more integrated and secured energy market. It shows commitment to better align national policies. This is a great step in the right direction, because approximately ˆ39 billion of investments are needed for power generation, energy efficiency and demand-side improvements until 2020 just to cater for the needs of the expected growth in energy demand in the Energy Community,” stated Mr. Gunther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy.

The Energy Community, like the European Union, faces substantial investment needs in the coming decades to manage low carbon oriented modernization of its energy production facilities and infrastructure.

The strategy analyses three possible supply scenarios attributing estimated investment costs to each of them, at the same time signalling both to the contracting parties and potential investors the magnitude of related benefits but also challenges. The strategy will be systematically updated over time.

As a next step, the Energy Community will start the process of identifying Projects of the Energy Community Interest (PECIs) with a similar approach as for the Projects of Common Interest in the European Union. The aim of this exercise is to support those energy projects which represent large benefits in fostering market integration and opening, security of supply, sustainability and provide simultaneous cross-border advantages to several contracting parties. It is also expected that a set of associated policy and regulatory measures, technical assistance and possible financial mechanisms will accompany PECIs and stimulate their implementation already in 2013.

Ministers also adopted Directive 2009/119/EC on maintaining minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products. The parties will have to implement this Directive not later than 1 January 2023. “The establishment of 90 days oil emergency stock is a long term project and demands large scale investments. With the exception of Ukraine, our markets are small. The Secretariat, therefore, strongly supports a regional approach on oil stock. Ideally, two or three Parties should jointly construct and manage regional oil stocks,” stated Mr. Slavtcho Neykov, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat.

The Energy Community entered into force in 2006, and aims to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond, and enhance the overall security of supply. Parties have committed themselves to liberalise their energy markets and implement key EU legal acts in the area of electricity, gas, environment and renewable energy. Among the Eastern Partners, Moldova (since May 2010) and Ukraine (as of February 201) are both full members of the Energy Community. Armenia and Georgia have observer status.
(EU Neighbourhood Info Centre)