Vienna Forum on European Energy Law – 2016

This year, the forum included a closed workshop for regulators on markets and regulation, which explored the current legal challenges in Eastern and South Eastern Europe. This included sessions on network unbundling and certification, in addition to examining the markets in transformation.

You can find links to the presentations given here below.

Session 1: Network Unbundling

• Transmission Unbundling by Marie-Therese Richter (Energy Community Secretariat)
• Distribution Unbundling by Christopher Bremme (Linklaters LLP)
• Designing Network Codes by Adrian Palmer (Baringa Partners)

Session 2: Markets in Transformation

• Legal Challenges in Establishing Organised Electricity Markets and Market Coupling by Dörte Fouquet (Backer Büttner Held)
• State Aid Enforcement in the Energy Sector in South Eastern Europe by Miloš Vučković (Karanovic & Nikolic)
• The Experience with Market Liberalisation in the CEE Region by Jiri Horak (CEZ)

Evening Debate on the Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating with the Energy Union

The workshop was followed by an open evening debate on the challenges and opportunities of integration with the Energy Union from the perspective of Energy Ministers from the Energy Community, including the Minister of Energy of Ukraine, H.E. Volodymyr Demchyshyn and the Minister of Energy of Albania, H.E. Damian Gjiknuri. 

4th Vienna Forum on European Energy Law

The second day of the forum will be opened by a keynote speech from Dominique Ristori, Director-General, DG Energy on the Energy Union followed by three sessions and a round-table discussion. 

Session 1: The Emerging Governance of the Energy Union

The first session will consider the emerging governance of the Energy Union, looking at the possibility of an electricity market design and the role of ACER.

• An Electricity Market Design at Last? by Christopher Riechmann (Frontier Economics)
• A New Role for the Agency by Dennis Hesseling (ACER)
• The Emerging Governance of the Energy Union by Dietmar Prienstorfer (E-Control) 

Session 2: Security of Gas Supply

The second session will examine the security of gas supply, particularly the move toward a pan-European security of supply regime, pipelines, and designing LNG contracts. 

• Towards a Pan-European Security of Supply Regime by Oliver Koch (DG Energy)
• Pipelines: Between Economics, Law and Diplomacy by Reinhard Mitschek (OMV)
• How to Design LNG Contracts by Andrius Simkus (Energy Community Secretariat) 

Session 3: Designing and Obtaining Support for RES and Energy Efficiency

The third session will focus on designing and obtaining support for RES and energy efficiency.

• Renewable Energy Policy: What Comes After Feed-in-Tariffs? by Mario Ragwitz (Fraunhofer)
• Energy Efficiency: How Efficient is the Current Regulatory Framework? by Kristóf Ferenczi (Kinstellar) 

Session 4: Energy Dispute Resolution

The final round-table debate will focus on energy dispute resolution, especially as it relates to arbitration, the Russia/Ukraine energy disputes and EU law and arbitration.

• Current Arbitration Cases Under the Energy Charter Treaty by Dörte Fouquet (Becker Büttner Held)
• Energy Dispute Resolution: Is Arbitration Outdated? Karl Pörnbacher (Hogan Lovells)
• Russia Ukraine Energy Disputes by Vitaliy Radchenko (CMS Cameron McKenna) 

For further information on the Forum, please see the website