OREANDA-NEWS. September 26, 2007. European countries are urging Belarus to ratify the Energy Charter Treaty, said Andre Mernier, Secretary General of the Energy Charter Secretariat, as he met with First Vice Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko, reported the Official website http://www.government.by.

“Belarus has ever been an active member of the Energy Charter. The ratification would be profitable for Belarus and would give a wake-up call to investors,” he believes.

Andre Mernier also remarked, Belarus plays an important role as a transit country and is an important energy market. Transit issues are topical for other Energy Charter member-states. There are many problem matters that need to be solved together.

In turn, Vladimir Semashko said, Belarus is ready to discuss and find mutually acceptable solutions that would foster the integration of Belarus into the global economy and would strengthen national energy security guarantees.

After meeting with the First Vice Premier of Belarus, Andre Mernier, Secretary General of the Energy Charter Secretariat, told media, it is favourable time for ratifying the Energy Charter Treaty. But it is the Government that has to take the decision. During negotiations the Belarusian side had remarked that the country values the opinion of Russia, which will also have to ratify the Energy Charter. “It is normal for Belarus to study the opinion of Russia, which is an important partner for Belarus,” underlined Andre Mernier.

The Energy Charter was signed in the Hague in December 1991. It is a declaration of political intentions targeting the promotion of energy cooperation between the West and the East. Signed in December 1994, the Energy Charter Treaty is a multilateral international legal instrument dedicated to interstate cooperation in power engineering. The document provides for the parties to cooperate in fostering access to international markets on commercial terms and fostering the development of an open and competitive market of energy materials and products as a whole.

Over 50 states have signed or acceded to the Energy Charter Treaty.

The Republic of Belarus signed the document in 1994 but has not ratified it. However, Belarusian experts take an active part in preparing, considering, examining and adopting all the documents within the framework of the Energy Charter, in activities of all working parties and expert panels as well as sessions of the Energy Charter Conference. The Belarusian Economy Ministry is the key agency supervising cooperation between Belarus and the Energy Charter.