The European Commission Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina presided on May 7 over the closure event of the Enreg project, designed to provide technical assistance and support to BiH energy regulatory authorities.

ECD was represented by the First Secretary and Head of the Operational Section for Economic Development and Natural Resources, Mr Johann Hesse, and by the Energy Task Manager, Mr Rafael Bellon.

During his introductory speech, Mr Hesse recapped the history of Enreg and congratulated beneficiaries and consultants for their continued collaboration and joint efforts even in the face of an adverse political environment. Emphasizing the role played by the ECD in adjusting to the given circumstances, he expressed that the project reached a successful completion thanks to its ability “to identify the real needs of the beneficiaries” and “focus on technical issues” that could benefit all parts above any political boundary.

Finally, the First Secretary reminded attendants that the Enreg experience proves how progress is possible when there is dialogue and that the EC will continue its support in the many tasks that still remain to be accomplished in the energy sector reform.

Following his speech, Mr Hesse handed over commemorative plaques to Presidents of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Mr Nikola Pejić), Regulatory Commission for Electricity in FBiH (Ms Djulizara Hadzimustafić) and Regulatory Commission for Energy of RS (Mr Milenko Cokorilo).

Beneficiaries from the regulatory commissions and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Reform (MOFTER) expressed their recognition and satisfaction with the provided assistance and the learning experience related to the regulatory practice, remarking that they are already benefiting from the results of the project in their daily work.

Forty-seven people attended the closure event, including beneficiaries from the state and entity-level regulatory bodies, MOFTER, international and local consultants, as well as representatives from the international community, among them the OHR, USAID, EBRD and KFW.

The Enreg project has been funded with CARDS funds from 2006 for an amount of Euro 1.5 million and it had been running since 2007.