The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia commit to cooperation on economic development and energy security

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia on 2 July made a multilateral commitment to greater cooperation on economic development and energy security.

At a Natural Gas Europe and IPM conference in Vienna, the three bodies issued a joint statement. They reached the following conclusions:

• That convening a multilateral forum for cooperation on energy policies is a high priority for their respective bodies;
• That improving economic development for the prosperity of the populations of their respective nations will be the focus of this multilateral forum;
• That improving economic development for the prosperity of the populations of their respective nations requires that attention be applied to security of supply;
• That the Chambers of Commerce and Industry will convene this forum;
• That the forum will be open to diverse viewpoints, including municipal and business interests;
• That the Chambers of Commerce and Industry will work for better guarantees for access to energy sources, liberalization of the energy market and competitive energy prices;
• That the Chambers of Commerce and Industry will act in accordance with the values of transparency, cooperation and the rule of law.

The forum for coordination of energy policies to increase prosperity for the region will be open to their respective members, governments and neighbours in the Central, Eastern and Southern European region. The Chambers have decided to name the forum the Danube Energy Initiative and a final agreement would be achieved in Budapest in September.

Secretary General of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vasil Todorov, said: “BCCI  supports the development of each energy project which meets the following requirements: 

• transparency – through public discussions, open procedures with clear rules and monitoring the compliance with the rules of the competition; 
• undisputed and evident benefits for businesses and citizens; 
• diversification.”

The conference in Vienna, entitled "Natural Gas: Perspectives from Central and South Europe", heard from a number of senior politicians, businessmen and academics. The recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between Gazprom and Austrian energy business, OMV, meant that the South Stream pipeline was top of the agenda for many of the speakers.

Among the participants was Hungary's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade – Péter Szijjártó, Head of the Department of Energy in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy – Christian Schönbauer, Imre Toth – Honorary President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, Zeljko Sertic – President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and others.