Member of the Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget Mr Filip Vuković, who is also a representative of the Parliament of Montenegro in the Energy Community Parliamentary Plenum, took part in the Energy Community Parliamentary Plenum meeting held on 19 December 2017 in Vienna, Austria.
On behalf of the Energy Community Presidency in office, the meeting was opened by MP Ms Sala Berisha-Shala, Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Development, Infrastructure, Trade, Industry and Regional Development at the Parliament of Kosovo. Furthermore, the members of the Parliamentary Plenum were addressed by Mr Janez Kopač, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, and Mr Claude Turmes, member of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.
The Parliamentary Plenum adopted the first Report titled “Security of Energy Supply in the Region of the Energy Community”, drafted by Mr Lev Pidlisetskyy, member of the Parliament of Ukraine, and Mr Claude Turmes, MEP. It was assessed at the meeting that efficient cross-border cooperation among contracting parties as well as the EU member states and complete compliance with the acquis were essential for successfully ensuring the security of energy supply. The plenum also expressed concerns regarding the outdated legislation on the security of gas and electricity supply currently being applied in the Energy Community.
The MPs pointed out that activities in the field of renewable energy sources, applying energy efficiency, and saving measures, as well as demand management, play a significant role in increasing security and sustainability of the energy supply. It was pointed out that the goal of the Plenum was to make the Energy Community better prepared to implement the EU acquis by having a dialogue among the members of national parliaments of the Energy Community contracting parties and of the European Parliament to discuss the common challenges in the field of energy and beyond.
At the meeting, they also adopted the Energy Community Parliamentary Plenum Rules of Procedure and it was announced that the Energy Community Presidency in 2018 would be taken over by Macedonia, as well as that during next year the Plenum meeting will be held in Brussels and Skopje.
Mr Filip Vuković, MP, took part in the 1st South East Europe Parliamentary Forum on Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, held after the meeting of the Parliamentary Plenum, on 20 December 2017. The Forum represents the beginning of the implementation of a new stage of the project “Public dialogue on sustainable use of energy in South-East Europe”, organised by the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ) with the support of the GIZ Open Regional Fund for SEE- Energy Efficiency and in cooperation with the Energy Community Secretariat.
Aside from members of the Parliamentary Forum, representatives of relevant ministries in charge of the energy field from SEE countries took part in the meeting as well as representative of the civil society. The participants, inter alia, learned about consequences of obligations stemming from the Paris Agreement, the Energy Roadmap 2050, energy efficiency in the fourth industrial revolution, technological solutions with a focus on the "smart" development of the urban area, local resources for sustainable development, etc.
The general assessment is that it is necessary for the Contracting Parties of the Energy Community to devote more attention to energy efficiency and climate change in the context of the EU vision by 2050. The participants have indicated that there is a political will for cooperation of national parliaments and line ministries with the aim of exploring potential challenges and possible solutions regarding the implementation of policies in the said fields, the need for education of professional staff, and the necessity to send a message to the society on the importance of these topics in order to raise their awareness.
