Secretariat requests Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia to adopt National Renewable Energy Action Plans without delay
24 Feb 2015
The Energy Community Secretariat once more formally requested Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to adopt and submit to the Secretariat their National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs). This is one of the key requirements of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources adopted by the Energy Community Ministerial Council in 2012. If the countries concerned do not notify measures to ensure full compliance with this obligation within two months, the Secretariat may submit the concerned cases to the Ministerial Council for a decision on the Contracting Parties’ breach of Energy Community Law.
The Secretariat sent Reasoned Opinions in Cases ECS-3/14, ECS-4/14 and ECS-5/14 against Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia respectively as the second step in a dispute settlement procedure initiated by the Secretariat under Article 90 of the Energy Community Treaty. With the adoption of NREAPs by Ukraine in October 2014 and by Montenegro in December 2014, the Secretariat closed cases ECS-7/14 and ECS-6/14 respectively.
Under the adapted Directive 2009/28/EC, each Contracting Party committed to a binding target for renewable energy to be reached by 2020. The Directive requires the adoption of NREAPs to ensure that the national targets are achieved. These plans are aimed at breaking down the overall target into sectoral targets and detailing the measures to be taken to support their achievement. NREAPs are an indispensable milestone to implement the Directive and achieve the overall target.
According to the Rules of Procedure for Dispute Settlement, parties with a legitimate interest in the case are granted access to the case file. All requests for information on this case should be addressed to Mr. Dirk Buschle, dirk.buschle@energy-community.org, Legal Counsel and Deputy Director, and should refer to the cases number ECS-3/14, ECS-4/14 and ECS-5/14.