Brussels, 22/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - The new secretary general of the Energy Charter, German national Ria Kemper (who, further to certain irregularities in the working of the Secretariat had taken over from Peter Schütterle on 7 December) told the press that the conclusion of a multilateral protocol on the rules governing energy transport will be one of the main priorities over coming months and years. Negotiations on this subject between the 51 Member States of the Energy Charter will begin in the near future, announced Mrs Kemper, "in the aim of closing them by the end of this year". This timetable is of course "ambitious", said Mrs Kemper, "but there is a great need to strengthen the regulatory system on energy transit, mainly in the countries of former USSR" through which oil and gas are transported from the place where they are extracted to the major consumer markets of Western Europe.
Another priority of the new Energy Charter secretary general will be that of improving the climate of investment in energy sectors in the States signatory to the Charter, in particular in Eastern Europe and in the former USSR countries. The Energy Charter will endeavour to help the countries in question to identify and eliminate national legislation that is incompatible with the principles and provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), and will help them restructure their energy sectors in order to attract more foreign investment, she explained.
Enhancing energy efficiency will be the third main direction for work that Mrs Kemper plans to follow. "Because of its unique constituency, the Energy Charter represents an excellent forum within which all European States, including those of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), can share information and advice on best practices concerning the development of national energy efficiency strategies", she said.
The ratification of the Charter Treaty by all 51 signatory States will be another of Mrs Kemper's concerns. So far, 41 countries have completed the ratification procedure. The secretary general hopes, above all, that, after the presidential elections in March, Russia will finally be willing to ratify the Treaty. "This would send an important signal to outside investors looking at the Russian energy sector, and would also benefit Russian energy companies looking to invest abroad", notes Mrs Kemper.