The Energy Week in Sofia 20-24 October, hosted by the Bulgarian Minister of Energy Milko Kovachev, was concluded today with a meeting on political level, the so-called “Athens Forum”.  Agreement was reached that the evolving regional energy market in Southeast Europe should in the future also cover gas.  It became equally clear that the commitments taken by SEE countries in the framework of the Athens process, named after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the Greek capital in November 2002, should be rolled over into a legally binding treaty during 2004.  This will further the legal predictability of the process and increase security for investors, donors and financial institutions alike.  It is envisaged to hold a ministerial meeting to that end later in the year, again in Athens.  The European Commission and the Stability Pact jointly drive the Athens Process since 2002, with a view to creating a regional energy market in SEE.  This should increase reliability of the supply, lower prices for consumers and create opportunities for investments in the energy sector.

Special Coordinator Erhard Busek underlined, that by implementing the Athens Process, SEE countries will be well placed to attract some of the worldwide share in energy investments, as they align themselves with a legal regime already known to investors, that of the European Union.  He also stressed, that the interconnection of existing capacities and the creation of a real market, especially for electricity, were vital element for attracting foreign investors to SEE in general.

Other events of the Energy Week included a Industry Roundtable in order to associate private business to the reform process, a seminar by USAID on the social safety net and alternatives to easing transition, a donors meeting including the review of a power generation investment study and a meeting of the Permanent High Level Group on Energy.  

*Participants: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, EU Commission, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Turkey, UNMIK; while Austria, Hungary, Moldova and Slovenia are observers.