On 25 October 2005 the first ever multilateral treaty in South East Europe was signed in Athens. Signing the Energy Community Treaty, the European Union and nine partners of South East Europe – Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo – will create the legal framework for an integrated energy market.

Negotiations with Turkey are ongoing for joining the treaty at a later stage. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the Treaty as “a major achievement for peace and stability in Europe”. Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in charge of energy, who signed the treaty on behalf of the European Union, commented that “the Energy Community Treaty will enhance security of supply and give support to a strategically vital sector”. http://europa.eu.int