INOGATE

2016-04-18T06:55:10Z

Smerus: /* Partner countries */

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}}
[[File:Inogatelogo.png|thumb|right|Logo of the INOGATE programme]]
'''INOGATE''' was an international energy co-operation programme between the [[European Union]] (EU), the [[littoral]] states of the [[Black Sea|Black]] and [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] seas and their neighbouring countries. The programme was operational from 1996 to 2016.

INOGATE was one of the longest running energy technical assistance programmes funded by the EU. Up to 2006, it was funded by the [[Tacis Regional Cooperation Programme]], and as of 2007, it was funded by the [[European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument]] (ENPI) under the ENPI-East Regional Indicative Programme 2007-2010 and 2010-2013. [[EuropeAid]] supported the programme through the ENPI and the [[Development Cooperation Instrument]].{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} The coordinating INOGATE Technical Secretariat was discontinued in April 2016.

==Origins==
INOGATE originated in 1995 as an EU support mechanism dealing with '''IN'''terstate '''O'''il and '''GA'''s '''T'''ransportation to '''E'''urope (whence it derived its name as an [[acronym]]).<ref>[http://delkaz.ec.europa.eu/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=68 Website of EC Delegation in Central Asia]</ref> It was particularly concerned initially with oil and gas pipelines running from and through Eastern Europe and the [[Caucasus]] to the EU. In 2001, a formal 'Umbrella Agreement' was signed by twenty one countries in [[Kiev]], to cooperate on pipeline development and enhancement.<ref>International Energy Agency (2006), p. 208</ref> Following conferences in [[Baku]], Azerbaijan in 2004 and in [[Astana]], Kazakhstan, INOGATE evolved into a broader energy partnership between the EU and countries of the former Soviet Union, (excluding the Russian Federation and the Baltic States, but including Turkey), and concentrating on four key topics:
* enhancing [[energy security]]
* [[Wikt:convergence|convergence]] of member state [[energy market]]s on the basis of [[Internal energy market|EU internal energy market]] principles
* supporting [[sustainable energy]] development
* attracting investment for energy projects of common and regional interest.

==Partner countries==
The INOGATE partner countries are:

{{columns-list|3|
* [[Armenia]]
* [[Azerbaijan]]
* [[Belarus]]
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* [[Kazakhstan]]
* [[Kyrgyzstan]]
* [[Moldova]]
* [[Turkey]]
* [[Turkmenistan]]
* [[Ukraine]]
* [[Uzbekistan]]
* [[Tajikistan]]
* ''[[Russian Federation]] (observer status only)''
}}

Turkey is an INOGATE partner country and was, therefore, regularly invited to attend INOGATE meetings but it is not a beneficiary country.

==The Baku Initiative and the Astana Declaration==
{{main|Baku Initiative}}

The [[Baku Initiative]] resulted from a policy dialogue on energy cooperation between the [[European Union]] and the INOGATE partner countries. The initiative was announced on 13 November 2004 at the Energy Ministerial Conference in [[Baku]]. A second Ministerial Conference was held in [[Astana]] on 30 November 2006 which confirmed the broader remit of the INOGATE programme to cover a range of energy issues in the Partner Countries and their cooperation in these issues with the EU.<ref name="Ministerial conferences">{{cite web|title=Ministerial conferences|url=http://www.inogate.org/pages/5?lang=en|website=Inogate.org|publisher=INOGATE|accessdate=24 December 2014|quote=The 2nd Energy Ministerial Conference took place two years later in 2006 in Astana, Kazakhstan and completed INOGATE’s transformation. INOGATE’s areas of work expanded to include three new energy sectors: electricity, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Its technical mandate was expanded to include legal and regulatory issues as well as investment attraction. The ministerial delegates adopted the Astana Declaration and its accompanying Energy Road Map.}}</ref>

One objective of the Baku Initiative is to enhance integration of the energy markets of participating countries with the EU [[energy market]], so as to create transparent energy markets, capable of attracting investment and enhancing security of energy supply. (Other aspects of the Initiative were concerned with transport issues: see [[Baku Initiative|main article]]). The partner countries agreed objectives to harmonise legal and technical standards so as to create a functioning integrated energy market in accordance with EU and international legal and regulatory frameworks; to increase the safety and security of energy supplies by extending and modernising existing infrastructure, substituting outdated power generation infrastructures with [[environmentally friendly]] systems; the development of new infrastructures and implementation of modern monitoring systems; improvement of energy supply and demand management through the integration of efficient and sustainable energy systems; and promotion of the financing of commercially and environmentally viable energy projects of common interest. A 'road-map' towards achievement of these and allied objectives was adopted at the Astana Ministerial Conference.<ref name="Ministerial conferences" />

==Structure and activities==
The coordinating body of INOGATE was the Technical Secretariat based in Kiev, Ukraine, with regional offices in [[Tbilisi]], Georgia, and in [[Tashkent]], Uzbekistan. The INOGATE Secretariat had an important role in ensuring the visibility, the coordination,coherence and sustainability of the programme as a whole as well as the individual projects.<ref>{{cite web|title=INOGATE secretariat|url=http://www.inogate.org/pages/3?lang=en|website=Inogate.org|publisher=INOGATE|accessdate=24 December 2014|quote=t the heart of the INOGATE Programme is the INOGATE Technical Secretariat (ITS). The Secretariat, inaugurated in Kiev in 2000, was the coordination mechanism of the INOGATE Programme and was active in providing the networking, coordination and promotion aspects of the INOGATE Programme’s activities.}}</ref>

The Baku Initiative is implemented through the four working groups, each of which contains members from all partner countries:

* Harmonisation of Legal, Regulatory and Institutional framework for market liberalisation
* Enhancing Safety and Security of Energy Transportation Networks
* Sustainable development
* Investment Attraction and Project Facilitation

A number of specific projects, financed by the ENPI, were associated with the INOGATE programme, and are [http://www.inogate.org/index.php?option=com_inogate&view=projects&Itemid=75&lang=en listed at the INOGATE webportal]. These projects included initiatives to improve safety and security of oil and gas transit structures, to develop coordinated national energy policies in Central Asia, and to support market integration and sustainable energy initiatives in partner countries.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

INOGATE was closely involved with the development of the Eastern European Regional Centre for Hydrocarbon Metrology in [[Boyarka]], Ukraine, which 'provides state-of-the-art calibration services for gas transfer within the region and to other countries'.<ref>ADE (2010), p. 71</ref> This should form an important element in the development of a regional energy market operating to Western European standards.<ref>see [http://www.inogate.org/media/documents/Buklet_A4_6pageTebodin_44_en_prev.pdf Boyarka] informative brochure</ref>

The INOGATE programme hadan ongoing schedule of conferences and publications. Its [http://www.inogate.org webportal] contained regularly updated information and news on energy developments in partner countries and relevant EU initiatives and policies.

The programme supported reduction in Partner Countries, their dependency on fossil fuels and imports, improvement of the security of their energy supply, and climate change mitigation.

==Projects==
An 'INOGATE Project' was any EU-funded regional energy project supporting energy policy cooperation in the INOGATE Partner countries in the topics of the four INOGATE areas of cooperation. Since the inception of the Programme in 1996, approximately 61 INOGATE projects have been implemented.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

In the period 2010-2015 there were three active INOGATE projects:

* INOGATE Technical Secretariat (ITS) and integrated programme in support of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership energy objectives; Duration: 02/2012-01/2015, Total value: €16.6 million
* Energy Saving Initiative in the Building Sector in the Eastern European and Central Asian Countries; Duration: 01/2010 - 12/2013, Total value: €4.5 million
* Sustainable energy programme for Central Asia: renewable energy sources and energy efficiency; Duration: 01/2013-12/2015, Total value: €4 million.

In addition to the INOGATE projects, there was also the following INOGATE-related project (not directly promoted as an INOGATE project but using INOGATE funding and encouraging the same objectives):

* Supporting Participation of Eastern European and Central Asian Cities in the 'Covenant of Mayors' (INOGATE-related project); Duration: 09/2011 - 09/2013, Total value: €2.15 million

Each of the individual projects was responsible for ensuring visibility of their actions. However the ITS project promoted their results in the wider framework of the INOGATE Programme.

==See also==
{{portal|Energy}}
* [[Energy Community]]
* [[Energy policy of the European Union]]
* [[Energy Charter Treaty]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* [http://www.enpi-info.eu/maineast.php?id=292&id_type=10 ENPI-Info] Web site of the EU Neighbourhood Partnership Initiative
* [http://democraticbelarus.eu/node/12113 Democratic Belarus] website
* [http://www.today.az/news/regions/83876.html Today.AZ] website, Azerbaijan
* ADE, ''Evaluation of the European Commission’s Cooperation with Ukraine'', 2010. Downloadable from [[OECD]] [http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/49/47272956.pdf website] in PDF format. Consulted 4.8.2011.
* Baghat, Gadat G., 'EU seeks energy security in stronger supplier ties', in ''Oil and Gas Journal'', vol. 103, issue 38, 10 October 2005, pp. 22–26
* Berenyi, Ivan, 'The Battle for market share', in ''Petroleum Economist'', September 2003, p. 1
* Boyarka Metrology Centre Brochure, [http://www.inogate.org/media/documents/Buklet_A4_6pageTebodin_44_en_prev.pdf downloadable] as PDF (consulted 4.11.2011).
* {{cite book | author = [[International Energy Agency|IEA]] | title = Ukraine Energy Policy Review, 2006 | url = http://iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/ukraine2006.pdf | format = PDF | year = 2006 | publisher = [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]] | isbn = 978-90-411-3407-3 | page = 208}}
* {{cite book | last = Talus | first = Kim | title = Vertical Natural Gas Transportation Capacity, Upstream Commodity Contracts and EU Competition Law | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ5F4cs_OJ8C&pg=PA29 | year = 2011 | publisher = [[Kluwer Law International]] | isbn = 978-90-411-3407-3 | page = 29}}

==External links==
* [http://www.inogate.org INOGATE web site]
* [http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/international/regional/caspian/energy_en.htm Baku Initiative] European Commission DG Transport and Energy
* [http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/international/regional/caspian/doc/2006_11_30_astana_conclusions.pdf Ministerial Declaration on Enhanced energy co-operation between the EU, the Littoral States of the Black and Caspian Seas and their neighbouring countries], 30 November 2006, Astana

[[Category:Energy policies and initiatives of the European Union| ]]
[[Category:International energy organizations]]
[[Category:Energy in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Energy in Armenia]]
[[Category:Energy in Belarus]]
[[Category:Energy in Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Energy in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Energy in Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:Energy in Moldova]]
[[Category:Energy in Tajikistan]]
[[Category:Energy in Turkey]]
[[Category:Energy in Turkmenistan]]
[[Category:Energy in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Energy in Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:European Union and third organisations]]

Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

INOGATE