Brussels international conference focuses on energy security in OSCE region

BRUSSELS, 25 October 2006 - Putting the global energy economy on a secure and sustainable path of development will require renewed efforts from governments and international organizations.

This was the opening message at a high-level conference, organized in Brussels today by the OSCE, the Energy Charter and the International Energy Agency. It brought together representatives of governments, industry and other stakeholders from across Eurasia and the Atlantic.

Welcoming the participants, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, said: "Energy security will remain on top of the global political agenda. Therefore, I call on all countries to acknowledge the importance of strengthening dialogue and co-operation not only between governments themselves, but also between governments and industry."

"In my view, the OSCE should stand ready to provide its political platform to strengthen regional and global long-term energy security with a view to contributing to reliability, security and affordability of energy," Minister De Gucht added.

Henning Christophersen, Chairman of the Energy Charter Conference, said: "We do face challenges to international energy security. During 2006, we have seen tight capacity in energy markets, consistently high prices, disruptions to supply, and further evidence of the urgent need to address the environmental impact of energy use. Working individually and also collectively through international organizations, governments can meet these challenges, but they have to ensure that the right legal and regulatory framework is in place. From the perspective of the Energy Charter, the right framework is one that is open to investment, innovation and trade, and one that encourages energy efficiency."

Ambassador William Ramsay, Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, underlined the need for transparent and coherent governance in order to maintain investor confidence and secure upstream investment. "For this enhanced market diversity is also important, not so much to complement well established trade links but rather to strengthen overall energy sector performance."

Speakers at the conference include high-level representatives from energy producing states, including Russia, Iran and Norway, from major transit countries such as Ukraine, as well as from net energy importers such as the European Union and the United States.

The event aims to identify points of converging interest, and policies and instruments that can provide a constructive framework for international energy co-operation and enhanced energy security.

Media contacts:

Energy Charter: Tim Gould tel. +32 (0)2 775 9814  tim.gould@encharter.org 

International Energy Agency: Sylvie Stephan tel. +33 (0)1 40 57 65 50 Sylvie.Stephan@iea.org