Mr. Vjekoslav Bevanda, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina opened on 14.06.2012 in Sarajevo the Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Energy Community. Structured as a whole day event, the Day provided a platform for the Energy Community Secretariat and top officials from state and entity level to discuss in details the performance in implementing the Treaty establishing the Energy Community. Mr. Mirko Sarović, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with Mr Željko Kovačević, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Republika Srpska and Mr. Erdal Trhulj, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina actively participated in the debate together with more than 60 representatives of the ministries, regulators, TSOs and business from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prime Minister Bevanda underlined that the membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Energy Community is a guarantee for the country to “be an equal partner in the region as well as in the EU”. The Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Sarajevo, Mr. Renzo Daviddi, who also addressed the event, recalled that the level of integration in energy sector is more advanced than in the other sectors of the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Secretariat, which is presently preparing its annual implementation report, clarified details on the latest developments in all energy subsectors with particular focus on electricity and gas. Further, it acknowledged the adoption of the new State aid law. The Secretariat also took note of the regulators’ work on eligibility methodology at the entity level. The planned adoption of the 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive on Energy Community level and the consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina were analyzed in detail. Other topics of the debate included statistics, oil and energy efficiency.

“There are certainly open issues to be further followed on substance. This concerns inter alia in concrete the gas legislative framework, the regulators’ status and competences, etc. In this relation, we acknowledge and respect the specificities of the country, where in the energy field some decisions on state level depend on the decisions, taken by the entities. However, our communication with MOFTER and the other institutions with competences in the energy field are excellent and we are looking together for solutions in line with the Energy Community acquis. Besides, Minister Sarovic already announced his initiative for strengthening the coordination formats between the state and entity level authorities, which we certainly welcome”, stated in conclusion Mr. Slavtcho Neykov, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat.