Initiatives supporting the formation of a unified European energy infrastructure, efforts designed to promote sustainable development and energy conservation, and issues related to consumers and the protection of consumer rights will continue to be dealt with as priorities during the rotating Hungarian EU-presidency, Minister of National Development Tamás Fellegi said summarizing his experiences during his visit to Brussels between 6-7 September 2010.
The general resolutions above will be manifested through the following specific priorities during the Hungarian presidency.

As regards the 2011-2020 Energy Strategy, the main priorities are setting out the EU’s medium-term energy policy direction, and the Roadmap 2050 built directly on it and containing (??) the EU’s long-term energy policy goals for the period up until 2050. The most important task of the Hungarian presidency is the continuation of the coordination activities started during the Belgian presidency.

The significance of the Energy Infrastructure Package is that besides increasing the security of the EU energy supply and through the positive utilization of financial resources, it can assist the convergence of those regions lagging behind from an infrastructural point of view. Numerous Hungarian projects have also received support from TEN-E, which is why among the tasks of the Hungarian presidency, paying close attention to and supporting the progression of the tasks in the package feature very highly.

The interim monitoring of the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan approved in 2006 is expected to fall due in 2011. In the course of this, the European Commission will review the objectives set out in the Action Plan in the light of the national energy efficiency action plans, and identify the most important measures – particularly affecting buildings, the public service and transport sectors – serving the attainment of objectives designed to increase energy efficiency by 20% and undertaken by the EU up to 2020. Approval of the commission conclusions, as well as presentation and a start on the negotiation of the new energy efficiency legislation plans are expected to fall due during the period of the Hungarian presidency.

The negotiation of legislation proposals concerning the transparency of the supervision of energy markets has already started under the period of the Belgian presidency. This draft legislation would fit into the concept of the strengthening of the supervision of the financial markets and stock exchanges as a reaction to the financial crisis, and it will regulate questions of insider trading, transparency and information management of the wholesale gas and electricity energy markets. The task of the Hungarian presidency will be the approval of, and getting approved the political agreement resulting in commission closure of the first reading.

During Tamás Fellegi’s stay in Brussels, he also participated in several bilateral negotiations. The main topic of all his meetings was detailing the energy priorities of the Hungarian presidency and the specification of the energy-related events falling under the period of the rotating Hungarian presidency. During talks conducted with energy commissioner Günther Öttinger, the parties also touched on the visit of the commissioner to Hungary planned for the middle of October. The most important topic of the informal meeting conducted with Taner Yildiz, Turkish minister responsible for energy affairs and natural resources, was clarifying the standpoints related to the Nabucco gas pipeline, while during talks with Charles Hendry, British energy state secretary, the parties reviewed the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries during the period of the Hungarian presidency.

An energy meeting of experts from the Visegrád Cooperation countries (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia) also took place in parallel with the informal session of the EU ministers of energy. At the meeting Hungary was represented by Pál Kovács and Tamás Iván Kovács, deputy state secretaries of the Ministry of National Development. During the discussion, all parties reaffirmed their commitment to the development of the north-south energy infrastructure in the region.

Ministry of National Development Communications Department Budapest,
 7 September 2010