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Today representatives of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia as well as
European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš
Šefčovič and Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy Miguel
Arias Cañete have held the first meeting of the Central East
South Europe Gas Connectivity (CESEC) High Level Group in Sofia.
The objective of the High Level Group is to establish a regional
priority infrastructure roadmap and advance its implementation
in order to develop missing infrastructure and improve security
of gas supplies. Ultimately each Member State of the region
should have access to at least three different sources of gas.
Timely implementation of infrastructure is particularly
important in view of the vulnerable situation of the Central
Eastern Europe and South East Europe region. This was
demonstrated most recently by the European Energy Security
Strategy and Stress Tests performed last year. Security of
energy supply is one of the building blocks of the Energy Union
project, one of the priorities for the European Commission.
Today, the High Level Group adopted its Terms of Reference which
define the specific scope of its activities and governance
structure. The discussions covered both external and internal
aspects of the supply situation in the region, with a specific
focus on interconnections and on the optimal use of existing
infrastructure. Further expert level analyses will be carried
out in sub-groups looking at specific infrastructure corridors
with the aim of identifying missing links and other barriers
hindering effective market integration. The High-Level Group
agreed that an Action Plan with concrete deliverables to
accelerate realisation of the identified projects will be
adopted by early summer. Its implementation will be regularly
monitored by the High Level Group itself, thus building on the
political momentum to end market fragmentation and prevent
potential future supply crises.
Whilst the High Level Group has been established by the
abovementioned Member States, neighbouring countries will also
be involved to ensure a regional approach beyond the borders of
the EU. Input from National Energy Regulatory Authorities,
ENTSOG, ACER, the Energy Community Secretariat and project
promoters (TSO or non-TSO) as well as International Financial
Institutions will provide the basis for a solid assessment.
The High Level Group will meet again by early summer to take
stock of the progress achieved on expert level and establish the
Action Plan. |
