28-30 November 2011,  Sopot, Poland

Discussion about European energy issues has always been one of the focal points of the Economic Forum in Krynica, which is confirmed by the special Energy Forum organized for 6 years. Noticeable for a few years, enormous increase in importance of the energy sector for development of states, regions or entire continents has confirmed the rightness of the decision taken a few years ago to devote to this topic a separate meeting. The meeting has the purpose of facilitating open debate among the most important figures of the world of politics and business about the challenges and risks resulting from the current state of affairs and about the way how the Central European region can influence energy policy of the European Union. The subject matter of the Forum has always reflected very closely the key energy challenges of our continent.   

Debates of the Energy Forum focus on the issues of regulatory policy in the sector, energy security, perspectives for development of nuclear energy, methods of financing transition of national economies to renewable sources, and also the possibilities of cooperation in the area of energy in Central and Eastern Europe. Another important topic, discussed during the Forum in recent years, has been related to the perspectives of mining shale gas in Central Europe.

The topics of this year’s Forum include ‘Shale gas: Between business and politics?’; ‘Strategies for development of renewable energy in Central and Eastern Europe; ‘Integration of electric energy markets in the Baltic Sea Region’; ‘Energy ‘road map’ of Europe- the direction towards integrated market or return to national strategies?’; ‘Trade in emissions in the EU and the future of coal-based economies – in search for better solutions’, among other things.

The cycle of meetings held within the scope of the Energy Forum has become a key place for sharing ideas and open debate about the contemporary energy-related issues in Central and Eastern Europe. Currently the Forum is the biggest and the most comprehensive conference in our region. The previous editions of the Forum, which were held in Sopot, Prague and Budapest were visited by the representatives of all most important players in the energy market, including politicians, businessmen and experts from our region and the European Union, Russia and the United States.

In the previous year, the motto was new energy strategy for Europe, whose content has still been widely discussed on both political and business level.  The task of the strategy is to outline the main goals of the European energy policy in the nearest years. One of its key points is to complete creation of the common energy market in Europe; in order to finalize this project it is required to build a common energy and gas network, modernize and invest in already existing transmission infrastructure. The strategy points to the need of strengthening external energy policy of the European Union, and also the necessity of implementing already existing regulations in the area of energy. The subject matter of the Forum has always corresponded with the most important current challenges of the energy sector. That is why the debates of the Forum this year will be in a special way devoted to the Common Energy Policy and realization of the EU Climate and Energy Package.

The 6th Energy Forum in Sopot is organized by the Town of Sopot and Foundation Eastern Institute in Warsaw – the organizer of the Economic Forum in Krynica.