The international developments and prospects of the energy sector but also the impact of the pandemic and the challenges of the period in the Balkans and SE Europe were in focus of the first day (9/12) of the 12th SE Europe Energy Dialogue organized by the Institute of Energy for South-East Europe (IENE). This year's event - which was held exclusively online due to the pandemic - themed "In Search of a New Energy Direction", managed to gather 52 keynote speakers from 18 different countries, despite the difficulties brings the pandemic, as the President and Executive Director of IENE, Costis Stambolis noted during his introductory comment.
The highlight of the first day of the 12th Energy Dialogue for SE Europe was the extensive presentation of World Energy Outlook 2020, the emblematic edition of the International Energy Agency (IEA) by the Organization's chief analyst Kieran McNamara, and Apostolos Petropoulos, Energy Modeler of the IEA. As McNamara pointed out in his presentation, whether the disruption caused to the system by the pandemic will ultimately appear to be helpful or slow down the pace of the Energy Transition and be an obstacle to achieving international energy and climate goals. will depend on how governments respond to these challenges.
During the first session of the forum, in his presentation the Head of Research of IENE, Dimitris Mezartasoglou, who referred to this year's annual report of IENE for the Greek Energy Sector. Particularly important were the interventions of leading representatives of the energy sector of various Balkan countries and SE Europe and specifically of Dr. Yurdakul Yigitguden, Independent Energy Advisor and Former Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environment Activities, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from Turkey, Mihailo Mihailovic, Independent Energy Consultant from Serbia and Dr. Stavri Dhima, Independent Energy Consultant from Albania and Dr. Gina Cohen, Lecturer, Gas Analyst and Consultant on Natural Gas from Israel. The international speakers spoke at length about the conditions that are developing in the energy sectors of their countries and the wider region as well as the general geopolitical, economic and energy challenges, with Dr. Gina Cohen pointing out the serious problems caused by Turkey's stance in the region.
The second session of the forum was entitled "Key Policy Issues and Critical Choices in SEE's Energy Sector" and was moderated by Miltos Aslanoglou, independent energy analyst. In the context of this discussion, Pantelis Kapros, Professor of Energy Economics and Business Research at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens and head of E3MLab underlined the highest priority given by the EU. in energy tax reform. Prof. Capros was succeeded on the Internet by Vesna Borozan, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering & Information Technologies, University of St. Cyril and Methodius and IENE partner from Northern Macedonia, Aleksandar Mijuskovic, Advisor to the Executive Director, Coordinated Auction Office in South East Europe (SEECAO) and IENE member from Montenegro, Nenad Stefanovic, Senior Expert for Electricity , Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia (AERS), from Serbia and George Polychroniou, Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development of DEPA. Also, in the online discussion that followed, moderated by the New Europe journalist from Brussels, Kostis Geropoulos, Dr. Charles Ellinas, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council, from the United Kingdom and Julian Bowden, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, also from the United Kingdom.
The third session of the 12th SEE Energy Dialogue on "Gas Supply Prospects and Energy Security in SE Europe" was moderated by John Roberts, Energy Security Specialist, from the United Kingdom. The keynote speaker was Dr. Katja Yafimava, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, UK. Dr. Yafimava gave an overview of the situation in the energy market after the Ukrainian gas crisis and the impact it had on the fuel supply of SE Europe.
Dr. Michalis Thomadakis, Head of Strategy and Development of DESFA referred to the domestic gas market and its prospects, characterizing Greece as a crossroad for new gas routes and initiatives in the field. For his part, Gokhan Yardim, Partner & General Manager, ADG Natural Gas Consultancy and member of IENE from Turkey, who referred, among other things, to the role that natural gas plays in the country's energy security, while not failing to emphasize the fact that Turkey is the first country in the region to operate a Gas Purchase Spot in an effort to break free from Russian gas imports. The meeting was also attended by Boyana Achovski, Secretary General, Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), from Brussels and Milan Zdravkovic, DSO Executive Director, JP SRBIJAGAS, from Serbia.
The first day of the 12th SE Europe Energy Dialogue ended with the fourth session on "LNG and Tomorrow's Gas Markets" and moderated by Costis Stambolis, Chairman of IENE. Keynote speaker was Spyros Paleogiannis, Managing Partner, Medgas & More Services Ltd and member of IENE, from Cyprus, followed by Robert Bosnjak, Development and Investment Division, Plinacro, from Croatia and Nikos Satras, Investments Special Analyst in the Strategic Planning Department of Motor Oil.
