Estonia officially became the 29th member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on May 9, Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven announced, as the Baltic country completed the final step towards full membership.
“We are delighted to welcome Estonia into the IEA,” Ms. Van der Hoeven said. “Estonia, like the IEA and its member countries, prizes energy security, economic development and sustainability. The country has made remarkable progress in transforming its energy sector, and there is every reason to expect that this successful process will continue and be reinforced through IEA membership.”
Urve Palo, Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, said: “Accession to the IEA is an important milestone for Estonia in order to become an active participant in global energy policy. As a member state, sharing the common values of the IEA, we will actively contribute to an efficiently functioning energy economy.”
Estonia takes its seat at the Governing Board, the highest political decision-making authority of the IEA, and, as such, joins the collective energy security system which is the linchpin of the Agency. IEA member country ministers endorsed Estonia’s membership last November at the IEA Ministerial meeting in Paris.
Before becoming a member country of the IEA, a candidate country must demonstrate that it has:
- as a net oil importer, reserves of crude oil and/or product equivalent to 90 days of the prior year’s average net oil imports to which the government (even if it does not own those stocks directly) has immediate access should the Co-ordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM)—which provide a rapid and flexible system of response to actual or imminent oil supply disruptions—be activated;
- a demand restraint program for reducing national oil consumption by up to 10%;
- legislation and organization necessary to operate, on a national basis, the CERM; and
- legislation and measures in place to ensure that all oil companies operating under its jurisdiction report information as is necessary.
For the list of the current IEA members, click here.