A parliamentary delegation from Kosovo visited Podgorica, Montenegro on December 4 and 5 to discuss best practices and challenges in the process of preparation and implementation of the Law on energy efficiency and other topics pertaining to the energy field. Representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro, the Montenegrin Parliament and civil society organizations were present at the meetings. The exchange of experiences was supported by the GIZ Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE).
GIZ ORF-EE organized the event in coordination with long-term partners, the Prishtina Institute for Political Studies and the Montenegrin School of Political Studies. The event was held as part of the ORF-EE project “Regional Cooperation and Capacity Development of Parliamentarians of South-East Europe on Energy Efficiency and Climate Topics.”
During the two-day gathering, Kosovo parliamentarians led by Sala Berisha-Shala, Chair of the Kosovo Parliament Committee for Economic Development, Infrastructure, Trade and Industry, and Montenegrin hosts, Genci Nimanbegu, Vice President of the Montenegrin Parliament and Predrag Sekulic, Chair of the Committee for Economy, Finances, and Budget of Montenegro, discussed possibilities at parliaments’ disposal to help raise the public awareness on the importance of energy efficiency, promotion of projects which are being implemented, and improvement of parliaments’ supervisory role in this sector.
Kosovo delegation worked on law on energy efficiency adopted in early November
The Kosovo delegation comprised four MPs who earlier this year established a parliamentary group for preparation of the Law on energy efficiency. The law was adopted in early November of this year with strong participation of the GIZ ORF-EE partner in Kosovo, the Prishtina Institute for Political Studies. Kosovo is now beginning the implementation of the energy efficiency law and the MPs sought to look into the approach and practice of the responsible authorities in Montenegro related to the implementation of the legal framework for energy efficiency.
On this occasion, Jasna Sekulovic, ORF-EE Project Manager, said “We are very glad that the idea for this visit came directly from Kosovo MPs, as this reflects an impact of our previous activities conducted on the regional level – such as the First and Second South-East Europe Parliamentary Forum on EE and Climate, held in Vienna in December 2017 and in late November this year and the study trip to the Bundestag/Bundesrat in Berlin in June this year.
“This initiative by parliamentarians from Kosovo to exchange experiences proves that the regional approach the GIZ ORF-EE applies is recognized by SEE parliamentarians and is an added value in the process of planning national policies in the field of energy efficiency,” Sekulovic added.