In the
annual Ministerial Council meeting which took place in Belgrade, on Thursday,
October 24, a list of 35 “Projects of
Energy Community Interest” (PECIs) was adopted. Fourteen electricity
generation, nine electricity infrastructure, ten gas infrastructure and two oil
infrastructure projects were selected due to their importance for the
development of cross-border energy markets in the region. The projects will
benefit from investment incentives and enhanced regulatory conditions. “I welcome the endorsement of the PECIs list
by the Ministerial Council today. The PECI label will help to attract much
needed investment into the region – almost 40 billion EUR is required until
2020. However, the lack of progress on achieving effective market opening and
the regional integration of energy markets is worrying. The implementation of
the Third Energy Package, as an imperative tool to reach these objectives, must
become a key priority”, said Mr Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner
for Energy.
In the Belgrade
meeting, the Ministers also decided to extend the duration of the Energy
Community Treaty for a period of ten years. They also established a High Level
Reflection Group tasked to assess the shortcomings of the current treaty and
make proposals for improvement. Former President of the European Parliament and
Prime Minister of Poland, Mr Jerzy Buzek, was appointed as its chairman. The
group is to report to the Ministerial Council in autumn 2014. “The Energy Community has proven to be an
effective framework for regional cooperation in the energy field and it is
clear that its role will be at least, but likely even more, important in the
coming years as the Contracting Parties focus on the practical implementation
of their commitments under the Energy Community Treaty. This is why the Energy
Community requires stronger institutions and instruments to successfully
achieve the goals set out in the Treaty. The creation of the High Level
Reflection Group is a key step forward in this respect. I further express my
satisfaction with the appointment of Mr Jerzy Buzek,” said H.E. Mrs
Zorana Mihajlović, Minister of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection
on behalf of Serbia as the Presidency in office of the Energy Community.
The Ministers
also took two important decisions aimed at further limiting emissions from
large combustion plants. Given the large scale of investment required to
retrofit existing combustion plants, the Ministers decided to provide the
option to apply during a transitional period flexibility instruments for the
implementation of the Large Combustion Plants Directive that would facilitate
its implementation in the Energy Community without reducing its level of
ambition. At the same time, they agreed to implement more ambitious
environmental goals of the Industrial Emissions Directive from 2018 onwards for
any new investments carried out in the region.
In the first
ever dispute settlement case before the Ministerial Council, the Ministers
established a breach of Energy Community law by Bosnia and Herzegovina related
to its legal framework in the gas sector. The Ministers called on the country
to rectify the breach no later than June 2014 and warned that the failure to do
so would be considered a serious and persistent breach of the Treaty. In this
case, Ministers asked the Secretariat to launch the required proceedings
against Bosnia and Herzegovina as envisaged in the Treaty.
It should be
noted that the projects were selected on the basis of a cost benefit analysis
methodology, following an extensive public consultation. If a project breaches
the Energy Community acquis or
national legislation, or an environmental impact assessment has not been
performed properly, the PECI label may be removed.