Addressing Global Energy Challenges and Building a Sustainable Future based on International Cooperation
Brussels, 6-8 May 2013

This very first training programme of the Energy Charter Secretariat Knowledge Centre was designed as a three-day-long course aimed at assisting younger generation energy professionals to better understand how the tools and instruments of multilateral cooperation can help address the prevailing challenges facing international energy markets. Participants were exposed to the leading forms of knowledge and experience outlining the benefits of international cooperation in the energy field. The programme focused on providing the participants with instruments for developing the relevant know-how in order to promote an innovative, secure and sustainable future for global energy.

On 29 April 2013 the Energy Charter Secretariat held a workshop on the Role of Intergovernmental Agreements in Energy Policy. The workshop was hosted by the WTO at its headquarters in Geneva. The aim of the workshop was to shed light on the application of existing international rules on trade and investment in energy embodied in the WTO Agreements and in the ECT. Another aim of the workshop was to raise awareness of the challenges the energy sector currently faces and the implications of such challenges for the regulatory framework. More specifically, the discussion focused on the interaction of the ECT and the WTO Agreements.

Following an invitation from the Ministry of Energy and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Energy Charter launched an in-depth energy efficiency review of the country. The review, performed in accordance with the Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects (PEEREA), began with a visit of Energy Charter experts to Dushanbe on 22-25 April 2013.

Secretary General Rusnák participated in the 10th Slovak Annual Congress on Power and Energy held under the auspices of the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on 23-24 April in Bratislava. The focus of the Congress was on "Safety and Security of the Energy Infrastructure, Stable Investment Environment and Innovations - the Way to the Sustainable Energy Future". Amb. Rusnák spoke during the session on the protection of energy infrastructure and security of electricity supply. In his presentation, he addressed both the physical risks of critical infrastructure and regulatory risks related to the distortion of power markets caused by the growing share of renewable energy sources.

The Energy Charter Secretariat was invited to speak at the I Congreso de Arbitraje de Inversión en Iberoamérica organised by the Arbitration Court of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce on 19 April 2013 in Madrid. The Congress, opened by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. José Manuel García-Margallo, gathered high-level experts on international arbitration and prominent law firms specialised in international investments and trade. Minister García-Margallo emphasised the importance of suitable arbitration mechanisms to meet the needs of both multinational firms and small and medium enterprises.