Second meeting of the joint energy expert group of the Czech Republic and Austria in Prague

The working group of Austrian and Czech experts met in Prague at 13 and 14 April to continue in discussions about the actual topics in energy policy of both countries.

The expert group had in-depth discussion of the current energy concepts for the Czech Republic, Other topics dealt with the potential for renewable energy in the Czech Republic and proposals to integrate these resources into the energy markets. The papers, presented in the discussion will be published in the second half of the year and be introduced on the web side of the working group ( www.energyeurope.net).

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Rudolf Jindrák emphasized at a working meeting with the joint energy expert group about the need for a high level academic dialog in order to meet the challenges for the energy sector facing the enlarged European Un-ion.

The next meeting of this bilateral expert group will deal with the upcoming structural changes of the European energy markets. Special emphasis will be given the options from innovative technologies which might very well lead to a fundamental redesign of the European energy sector.

This high level expert group on “Sustainable Energy Policy in Europe” originates from an agreement between the Czech Republic and Austria in order to step up the aca-demic dialog between the two countries on bilateral and European energy issues. The mandate of the expert group encompasses to investigate innovative options for shaping demand and supply of energy by focusing on economic, environmental and security issues.

Prof. Ivan Wilhelm

Rector of Charles University Prague

+402-24491-313

Ivan.Wilhelm@ruk.cuni.cz

Prof. Stefan Schleicher

University of Graz, Austria

+43-676-591-3150

Stefan.Schleicher@wifo.at