Athens News Agency, Greece
Today’s Home News
Friday 4, March 2005
BSEC members sign “Alexandroupolis Declaration” on energy
Energy ministers of the countries belonging to the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) organisation adopted the “Alexandroupolis Declaration,”
after their meeting held in Northern Greece on Friday.
The primary conclusion the BSEC ministers reached was that
liberalisation of electricity and natural gas markets in full accordance
with EU directives is a must, with the aim of creating a regional energy
market, thus achieving economies of scale that will in turn lead to greater
growth.
A meeting of the working groups on electricity networks and energy
earlier in the week preceded Friday’s meeting.
By adopting the Alexandroupolis Declaration, BSEC members have agreed on
a common framework for collaboration in the future.
According to the declaration, some of the points BSEC members have
agreed on include: strengthening cooperation in order to improve energy
efficiency and promote renewable sources of energy, instituting a common
legislative framework with common rules that will apply to all BSEC member
countries, create a common market of electricity networks and natural gas
within the context of the EU market, etc.
All of the BSEC members – Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Greece, Moldavia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey
and Ukraine – were represented at the meeting, while committees of energy
experts also participated.
Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas represented Greece.
Macedonia-Thrace Minister Nikos Tsiartsionis, Deputy Foreign Minister
Evripidis Stylianidis, Deputy Development Minister George Salagkoudis and
Secretary General for Development N. Stefanou were also in attendance.