2nd Interim Steering Committee (ISC) of the UfM Platform on Gas
Brussels, 11 May 2015 – More than 50 participants gathered for the 2nd Interim Steering Committee (ISC) of the UfM Platform on Gas. Participants included the members of the ISC and representatives of Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey the European Commission, UfM, UfM Secretariat (UfMs), Eurogas, Gas Infrastructure Europe, Medreg, and OME both as a stakeholder and as the Platform Secretariat.
The meeting was chaired by Christopher Jones, Deputy Director General of the EC Energy Directorate and EC representative of the co-presidency of the UfM and Sudqi Al Omoush, Jordan Representative UfM Co-Presidency. Participants discussed the text of the Terms of Reference. An update version incorporating the comments from parties will be elaborated. The draft final version will be submitted to the approval at the Launch of the Platform.
On behalf of the Platform Secretariat, Houda Allal presented the activities performed since the 1st meeting and in particular the activities of the Working Group established in order to prepare a background report on “Common challenges for the development of a mutually beneficial Mediterranean gas market place” and suggested next steps. Sohbet Karbuz made a presentation on the status of the report and Patrick Heather of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, as expert guest discussed the issue of gas hub and the evolution of European gas hubs. A vivid discussion on the report took place and participants agreed on the final structure of the report and next steps to finalise it.
As a Conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed to organise the Next meeting of the ISC and formal launch of the Gas Platform on June 11th, 2015 in Brussels back to back with a conference co-organised by EC and OME on the Natural Gas Market in the Mediterranean. First post-launch meeting of the Gas Platform will take place in September. The background report on “Common challenges for the development of a mutually beneficial Mediterranean gas market place” will be revised and complemented following the lines decided at the meeting and feedback to be received by June 1st. It will be presented for discussion at the June 11th meeting and finalized for adoption at the September meeting. It will then be discussed and endorsed by the UfM Ministerial meeting in Autumn.