Brussels’ advocacy of SEE SEP Network

An Energy Community for the Future – Conference at the European Parliament

On the 20^th of March 2014 took place the conference An Energy community for the future at the European Parliament in Brussels. At the same place gathered politicians, ministers, experts, public servants, CSO representatives from all over Europe to discuss the future of the Energy Community of South-east Europe.

The agenda of the Conference was:

Welcoming speech: Jerzy BUZEK, Member of the European Parliament, Chairman of the High-Level Reflection Group of the Energy Community

9:05-9:15 Statement: Yuriy PRODAN, Minister of Energy and Coal Industry, Ukraine

9:15-9:25 Statement: Günther OETTINGER, Commissioner for Energy, European Commission

9:25-9:30 Introduction to the discussion panels: Jerzy BUZEK

9:30-11:00 Discussion panels

1. Panel I: Building the Right Investment Climate Moderator: António CORREIA DE CAMPOS, Member of the European Parliament Panelists: Paolo BOZZOLO, UniCredit Piotr TRZASKOWSKI, European Climate Foundation;

Panel II: Rules and Institutions – Maximizing Efficiency Moderator: Reinhard BÜTIKOFER, Member of the European Parliament Panelists: Alan RILEY, City University London

Leigh HANCHER, Allen & Overy LLP, University of Tilburg Garret TANKOSIĆ-KELLY, SEE Change Net

Other panelists were the members of the High-Level Reflection Group as following:

Jerzy Buzek (chairman)

Walter Boltz

Vesna Borozan

Fabrizio Donini-Ferretti

Volodymyr Makukha

Goran Svilanović

The opening statement from the HLRG chairman:

“The Energy Community is an enabler for the creation of a pan-European energy market. The further development of gas and electricity interconnections with our Energy Community neighbours will improve the functioning of the EU internal energy market, in terms of security of supply and affordable and sustainable energy” - explained the former president of the European Parliament who currently presides over works of the Energy Community High Level Reflection Group. "Energy Community countries are major transit routes of today – just think of Ukraine – and of the future as the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and Ionian Adriatic Pipeline will both cross the Energy Community countries” - pointed out the MEP Jerzy Buzek.

The biggest focus was Ukraine and the changes that will happen to the Energy Community (EnCom) structure in the future. Points raised by the panelists were:

- There is a big lack of commitment and political will as well as lack of investments in the energy sector in the EnCom contracting parties;

- The EnCom must guarantee the security of energy supply;

- The EnCom is currently at the stage of energy planning, new projects for securing the above mentioned supply;

- Planning in this sector is fundamental: planning the gird networks; and planning from where the energy is going to come;

- There must be a financial assistance for the contracting parties of the EnCom. However this assistance must be conditioned with the implementation of the acquis;

- For now there have been no investments secured for the PECI (Projects of Energy Community Interest) of the EnCom;

- The EnCom must be Europeanized not Balkanized;

- An Energy Court and Commission like the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU must be created for the EnCom as well;

- A parallel rule of law system to the ones of the countries of South-east Europe must be created at the level of the EnCom;

- A supranational system structure should be established if the EU wants to see the EnCom succeeding as the countries of the South-east Europe are rife with corruption and non-functional judiciary;

- Civil society organizations (CSOs) must be a formal part of the EnCom;

- Instead of having contracting parties in the EnCom there should be a new term introduced: members in order for the countries to take the responsibilities more seriously;

- The environmental acquis must be transposed in the EnCom and the contracting parties should implement it together with the energy acquis.

Also present at the conference were several SEE SEP members from which the network coordinator was also a panelist:

Garret Tankosic-Kelly from SEECN Sarajevo

Masha Durkalic from SEECN Sarajevo

Zoran Ivancic from CPI Sarajevo

Ana Rankovic from FRACTAL Belgrade

Sonja Zuber from ANALYTICA Skopje

Aleksandra Bujaroska from FRONT 21/42 Skopje

Ermelinda Mahmutaj from EDEN Tirana

Maja Kandic from GREEN HOME Podgorica

Kushtrim Kaloshi from ATRC Pristina

Meeting with Ms. Michaela Matuella from the Cabinet of Commissioner Stefan Fule, Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy

Sonja Zuber was also present at a meeting at the European Commission. А smaller group of 6 reps from civil society discussed  lot of issues concerning energy and the Balkans with Ms. Michaela Matuella, member of Stefan Fule’s Cabinet. The issues ranged from the briefing from EnCom Conference, vocalizing the importance of having CSOs permanently present in the EnCom structure, as well as each country’s individual concerns regarding energy. For example in the Macedonian case were mentioned: the exclusion of the energy sector from the new IPA Programming Period 2014-2020 and how it is vital to have it included, especially for the local communities by Sonja Zuber; and the plans to build two hydropower plants in the highly-protected National park Mavrovo, concerns raised by Aleksandra Bujaroska from Front 21/42 also from Macedonia.