Energy Charter Treaty
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The Energy Charter Treaty is an international agreement originally based on integrating the energy sectors of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe at the end of the Cold War into the broader European and world markets.
The original European Energy Charter was signed in the Hague on 17 December 1991, containing a declaration of principles for international energy including trade, transit and investment, together with the intention to negotiate a binding treaty.
The treaty itself was signed in Lisbon in December 1994, together with a protocol on energy efficiency and related environmental aspects. The treaty came into effect in April 1998; an amendment to the trade-related provisions was also agreed that month.
Russia, the region's energy superpower, has so far failed to ratify the treaty, and as of December 2006 indicated that this was unlikely due to the provisions requiring third-party access to Russia's pipelines.[1] MEPS in the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee said in early September 2007 that the EU should only support Russian membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if it adheres to the Energy Charter Treaty.[2]
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[edit] Membership
[edit] Members of the Energy Charter Conference
Albania
Armenia
Austria
Australia*
Azerbaijan
Belarus*.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png)
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
European Union
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland*
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Republic of Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Mongolia
Netherlands
Norway*
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia*
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
United Kingdom
Note: * - countries not ratified yet the Energy Charter Treaty
[edit] Observers
[edit] Countries
Afghanistan**
Algeria
Bahrain
China
Canada**
Iran
South Korea
Kuwait
Montenegro
Morocco
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan**
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Serbia**
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
United States**
Venezuela
Note: ** indicates signatory of Energy Charter declaration (the 1991 document)
[edit] International Organisations
[edit] Energy Charter Conference
The Energy Charter Conference is the governing and decision-making body for the Energy Charter process. The Chairman of the Energy Charter Conference is Henning Christophersen, Denmark, and the Vice-Chairmen are Ivan Materov, Russian Federation, and Manabu Miyagawa, Japan. The Energy Charter Conference has following subsidiary bodies:
- Investment Group
- Energy Efficiency Working Group
- Trade and Transit Group
- Budget Committee
- Legal Advisory Committee
[edit] Secretariat
The Energy Charter Conference is served by the Secretariat based in Brussels. The Secretariat:
- monitors implementation of the Energy Charter Treaty and Protocol’s obligations;
- organizes and administrates meetings of the Conference and its subsidiary bodies;
- provides analytical support and advice to the Conference and its subsidiary bodies ;
- represents the Energy Charter Conference in the relations with non-member and other relevant institutions;
- supports negotiations on new instruments mandated by the Conference.
Since 1 January 2006, the Secretary General is Andre Mernier. The Deputy Secretary General is Andrei Konoplyanik.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Russia gets tough on energy sales to Europe: No foreign access to pipelines, official says, by Judy Dempsey, International Herald Tribune 12 December 2006
- ^ EUobserver.com
