The 38th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Institute was successfully held on July 8, with the participation of 35 partners out of the 45-member Board of Governors. The meeting, which was chaired by the Chairman of IENE, Costis Stambolis, took place online, while a small group of partners were assembled at the Institute’s offices in Athens.
The main item on the agenda was the approval of the annual accounts and the Institute’s Annual Report, which had been circulated well in advance to all partners. Following a short introduction by the Chairman and a discussion on various aspects of the Annual Report, the document was unanimously approved by the Assembly of Partners. The Annual Report will soon be posted on IENE’s website and will be freely accessible to all interested parties.
The next item on the AGM’s agenda was a detailed account by the Chairman of the Institute’s activities during the first six months of the year. In his report to the Partners, Costis Stambolis presented information on the various events organised by the Institute since the beginning of the year, including the webinar on “East Med Energy” held on January 15; the presentation of the “SEE Energy Outlook 2025/2026” at the Athens Exchange on February 5; the New Year’s Reception and the Prometheus Prizes award ceremony held at the Theocharakis Foundation on January 30; the “Energy Security in SEE” Roundtable held at the European Parliament in Brussels on March 19; the “Energy Efficiency for Buildings” workshop, co-organised with the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) on April 2; and the “5th Energy and Shipping Seminar” held on April 29. One further event was the conference on the Development of Energy Resources in the East Mediterranean, co-organised with the Athens branch of the University of Nicosia.
Following this, the Chairman briefed the Partners on the Institute’s current research programme, which comprises multi-client studies such as the one on “Data Centres and their Role in Energy Demand in SE Europe” and the study on “New Gas Corridors in SEE Europe”. Furthermore, the Chairman elaborated on the work being carried out by the resident research team, as part of the Institute’s Advisory Services, regarding the establishment of a Carbon Market in North Macedonia. He also provided brief information on several additional research projects, including those focusing on nuclear power and resource mapping in South East Europe and the East Mediterranean. A lively discussion followed, with the Chairman providing additional information on several key aspects of the above programmes.
Concluding the AGM, the Chairman seized the opportunity to inform the Partners about the “Vision 2030” report, which he is currently preparing with the assistance of a specialist marketing company. As Costis Stambolis noted, “It is becoming clearer by the day that a new strategy needs to be developed for the future growth and development of the Institute. This is absolutely necessary, as we are already experiencing significant changes both in the wider working environment and in the energy sector.”
The Chairman subsequently proposed that, upon completion of the “Vision 2030” strategy document, it should be circulated to all Partners for consultation and then discussed and approved at a specially convened General Meeting. This proposal was unanimously approved by the participating Partners, and it was decided that the work should be completed before the end of the year.
Following this, the AGM was brought to a close, with the Chairman thanking all Partners for their continued support and active participation in the meeting.
