The countries of South East Europe took a significant step forward toward integration of the regional energy sector, a key building block for the region's economic development and renewal, by initialling the Energy Community Treaty today in Brussels.  Aiming at creating an Energy Community in South Eastern Europe, the Treaty will, when ratified, give the full benefits of the EU internal energy market to the region.  In practical terms this means that the countries in SEE will be able to trade electricity and gas among each other and with any EU Member States under the rules of the acquis communautaire.  

Deputy Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Michael C. Mozur , who attended today's ceremony in Brussels, stressed the benefits of the Energy Community.  "The Treaty provides a unique opportunity to the region not only to be fully integrated into the EU as concerns the energy sector but also to attract much needed investment.  The treaty will accelerate the economic development of the region by ensuring a more secure supply of energy, greater operational efficiency and a drastic decrease in the overall cost of modernisation of the energy industry.  Moreover, it demonstrates the region's political commitment to regional cooperation and sends a very positive signal to those interested in pursuing investment and economic opportunities in the region."

While the Treaty has been negotiated with the countries of SEE by the European Commission, acting on behalf of the EU Member States, the Stability Pact has been one of the driving forces behind the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding, which are now being transformed into the legally binding Treaty.  The treaty was initialled by representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro as republics, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and UNMIK/Kosovo.

Today's initialling of the Treaty heralds a week-long Energy Week , which begins on 6 June in Skopje with the convening of a Parliamentary Conference, and will be concluded with a press conference on 7 June.  More than 30 Parliamentarians from SEE will debate the benefits of and the challenges raised by the Energy Community Treaty, which will be submitted to their respective Parliaments for ratification.  On 8 June, also in Skopje, the long-awaited Generation Investment Study (GIS), funded by the European Union and prepared under the supervision of the World Bank, will be presented, outlining the scale of investments required in the SEE energy sector by 2020, on the basis of assumptions on energy demand in the region, and suggesting ways in which the potential generation investments could be prioritised.  Proposals will also be presented on priority transmission links.  The presentation of the report will be followed by a two-day (Athens) Electricity Forum, which will discuss an Action Plan for all the countries involved until the full implementation of the Energy Community.

Launched in 1999, the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe is the first comprehensive conflict-prevention strategy of the international community, aimed at strengthening the efforts of the countries of South East Europe in fostering peace, democracy, respect for human rights and economic prosperity.  The Stability Pact provides a framework to stimulate regional co-operation and expedite integration into European and trans-Atlantic structures.  The Pact's secretariat, located in Brussels, is organised into three units - Working Table I deals with issues of democratisation and human rights, Working Table II with economic reconstruction, cooperation and development matters and Working Table III with security issues.

For further information, please contact Stability Pact's Spokesperson Mr Dragan Barbutovski at the SP Secretariat in Brussels (+32-2-401 87 25 or press@stabilitypact.org).

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PR2005/010