Delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marina Pendeš, chaired the meeting of the Energy Community Parliamentary Plenum in Brussels

Delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH), Marina Pendeš, chaired the meeting of the Energy Community Parliamentary Plenum in Brussels on behalf of the PABiH, alongside the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Borys Budka.

The meeting was attended by representatives of parliaments from the Energy Community's contracting parties and the European Parliament. Additionally, the Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, Artur Lorkowski, and the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, Mechthild Wörsdörfer, were present.

The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on the progress made in adopting European Union (EU) legislation from the Electricity Market Integration Package and on combating energy poverty.

In her address, Delegate Pendeš expressed her gratitude to representatives of European institutions for keeping enlargement among their priorities. Despite the challenges accompanying the accession process, she stated that she remains optimistic. She noted that the adoption of the Electricity Market Integration Package is lagging behind the set deadlines across all Energy Community contracting parties but expressed hope that the EU’s Growth Plan would help accelerate these processes.  She highlighted that Bosnia and Herzegovina has prepared a draft law on the regulation of electricity and natural gas and the electricity market, which is currently undergoing consultations. She expressed hope that the draft would soon be submitted into legislative procedure for consideration.

Following presentations by representatives of the parliaments from other Energy Community contracting parties on the situations in their respective countries, representatives of the European Parliament voiced concerns over delays in the integration of electricity markets and the associated market liberalisation, particularly given the challenges experienced by current EU member states during this process.

Participants in the Energy Community Parliamentary Plenum also discussed the advantages of price convergence through market integration, as well as the EU’s financial assistance aimed at protecting vulnerable households and supporting the region's energy transition.  (End)