OREANDA-NEWS. Central Europe Energy Partners (CEEP), an association of companies and organisations from Central Europe working with the European Union, is organising on April 25th Energy Summit '29+1' in Bucharest. The summit is being held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Romania Victor Ponta; Minister Delegate for Energy of Romania Razvan Nicolescu and in the presence of European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger. The main topic of Bucharest summit is energy prices and costs in Europe.

Since 2012, CEEP has been organising annual meetings of the 29 largest companies in the energy sector in Central Europe with Commissioner Oettinger. The meetings take place in Central European capitals and are an excellent opportunity for EU top representatives and businessmen from 11 countries of the region to exchange views.

- The formula for the '29 +1' was already successfully tested in Budapest and Vilnius - says Pawel Olechnowicz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Central Europe Energy Partners. - On the basis of those meetings, CEEP prepared special memorandums which were highly praised by UE commissioners. The principal goal of those and future meetings is to ensure that Central European energy sector companies speak in Brussels with one voice. This is the only way we can build a common European energy market and increase the economic potential of our region.

To satisfy the energy policy guidelines for 2020 Central Europe needs to invest EUR 400 - 460bn in efficient electricity generation and transmission. This is a huge outlay. Its costs will have a major effect on the price of electricity and push it dramatically up. Various estimates foresee that electricity prices for industrial customers in the EU11 could rise between 40 and 60% and this undoubtedly will impact individual consumers as well.

UE cohesion policy is not performing well enough. The GDP gap between the EU-15 and the EU-11 has remained almost at the same level for the last ten years. According to the statistics, in 2012, GDP per capita in the EU-15 was still three times higher than in the EU-11. In extreme cases, the gap differential reaches 1:16 (e.g. Luxembourg and Bulgaria). To reverse this trend, Central European countries must develop their industry efficiently and consistently, effectively creating new jobs. To this end, they need cheap energy, generated mainly from domestic sources.

The reindustrialization, optimum use of indigenous raw materials, and cheap energy are no longer challenges of the future. We need a decision now, before it is too late. No one doubts that EU is rapidly losing its competitive edge, not only vis-a-vis Asia, but also the United States. The revival of industrial investments in the US is, above all, a consequence of the revolution taking place there with the growing production of crude oil and natural gas from unconventional sources.

June 2014 marks the fourth anniversary of Central Europe Energy Partners (CEEP) incorporation. Its primary purpose, as the first organisation of its kind in the region, representing the interests of the Central European energy sector (including coal, oil, renewables, power grids, etc.), is to promote integration with EU common policies and promote security in the energy sector. It also serves to represent the interests of its members. Currently CEEP consists of 22 companies from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, employing more than 300,000 people and having a combined annual turnover of EUR 42bn.

Representatives of the association regularly participate in consultations with EU institutions on the most important legislative initiatives, concerning energy of the EU.

CEEP's main task in 2014 is to continue to promote and facilitate integration of Central Europe's energy sector within the framework of EU energy and climate policy. In full support of the EU's 20-20-20 targets, the association will also continue to represent Central European interests, ensuring that they are presented in a clear and consistent manner, and that they are given proper consideration in the EU arena. CEEP promotes a balanced approach to achieving the EU's climate protection, sustainable development and security policies in the energy sector. This means support for a common, comprehensive EU policy which shows due regard for the interests of Central Europe.