OSCE hosts Vienna Energy Club meeting on good governance

Improving efficiency, accountability and transparency in the field of energy was the focus of the sixth meeting of the Vienna Energy Club, hosted by the OSCE on 27 January 2012.

Martin Kreutner, the Chair of the Transition Team of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), and Ambassador Urban Rusnak, the newly appointed Secretary General of the Brussels-based Energy Charter Secretariat, were the featured speakers.

“Good governance and transparency are priorities of this year’s Irish Chairmanship of the OSCE, and both are critical in helping countries to attract direct foreign investment, to build trust and to improve their credit ratings” said Goran Svilanović, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. "Among the issues discussed was the fact that energy projects require a long-term commitment from investors; and long-term investment is greatly enhanced by the presence of a sound business climate.”

Slavtcho Neykov, the Secretary General of the Energy Community and Co-ordinator of the Vienna Energy Club, congratulated the International Peace Institute on being accepted into the Club, and the OSCE for its successful organization of today's proceedings.

The Vienna Energy Club comprises nine Vienna-based organizations active in the field of energy, including the Energy Community, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the International Peace Institute, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the OSCE, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.