On 6 July Dr Andor Nagy MP (Fidesz, EPP), Vice-Chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Hungarian Parliament, hosted the GLOBE parliamentary conference "EU 2020 Objectives in Central and Eastern Europe: National and Regional Strategies towards Energy Efficiency".

Crucial issues for the success of the EU 2020 Strategy in Hungary such as how to address the obstacles to support national energy efficiency improvements in power generation, transmission and consumption with EU regional funds, the potential of housing stock retrofit programmes as drivers of employment and economic growth, the best ways to use EU and national funding as a leverage for private capital for green growth, the need to ensure that the Hungarian National Energy Efficiency Action Plan puts the country on track towards the 2020 objectives and the views of the employers and of civil society were addressed at the conference.

The list of speakers included László Kövér MP, Speaker of the House; Mr Gábor Baranyai, Deputy State Secretary for EU Sectorial Policies; Peter Olajos, Deputy State Secretary for National Development and Climate Minister; Jos Delbeke, Director General of the European Commission Directorate-General for Climate Action; Polish MEP Danuta Hübner (Civic Platform, EPP), Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Regional Development, and Benedek Jávor MP, Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Hungarian Parliament.

Conference Chairman Dr Andor Nagy MP, GLOBE Focal Point at the Hungarian Parliament, noted that "all across Central and Eastern Europe, legislators have a key role to play to ensure that EU funding both up to 2012 and for the period 2013-2020 is made available in ways that suit better the realities of our countries, which have suffered severe energy sector adjustments. On the other hand, experts point out that there is much that legislators could do to address some of the non-economic roadblocks of the green economy agenda in Central and Eastern Europe, which have to do with market fragmentation or inadequacy, like regional harmonisation in areas like renewables support and energy distribution, development of schemes to attract private capital towards energy-saving programmes, etc. In this sense, the National Energy Efficiency Action Plans which all EU Member States are due to submit represent a concrete opportunity to steer national policy in this direction."

The official programme, Chair's Conclusions, participants list and presentations are all available online - click on the title of the presentation.

Opening Session

• * Opening Speech The Challenge of the EU 2020 Objectives in Central and Eastern Europe by Peter Olajos, Deputy State Secretary for National Development and Climate Minister
• * Energy Efficiency and Renewables: the Key for the 2020 Objectives (video address) by Jos Delbeke, Director General DG CLIMA
• * Employment Benefits of Energy Efficiency Policies in Poland and Hungary by Prof. Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, Central European University

Session I - EU Regional Policy in Support of Energy Efficiency in Generation, Transmission and Consumption

• * Communication "Regional Policy Contributing to Sustainable Growth in Europe 2020'' by Ms Agnes Kelemen, European Commission DG REGIO Policy Officer
• * Use of ERDF and ESD funds for Housing Retrofits: Obstacles and Possible Solutions by Ms Sorcha Edwards, CECODHAS Deputy Secretary General (European Federation of Social, Cooperative and Public Housing)
• * 2013-2020: Towards EU Regional Funds that Deliver, by Mr Mark Fodor, CEE Bankwatch Director

Session II - Regional Regulatory Challenges for the Green Economy

• * Keynote Speech 'The Case for Regional Cooperation' (video address) by Danuta Hübner MEP, Chair of the Regional Development Committee of the European Parliament
• * Employers' Perspective: Legislative Framework for Energy Generation Technology Leapfrog in Central and Eastern Europe by Mr Charles Fielden, GE Energy
• * Civil Society Perspective by Ms Marta Bonifert, Regional Environment Center Executive Director

Session III - National Energy Efficiency Action Plans in Central and Eastern Europe Towards the 2020 Objectives

• * Blueprint for a Regional Strategy towards Energy Efficiency in Central and Eastern Europe. Energy Efficiency in Hungary: Keystones and Threats by Benedek Jávor MP, Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Hungarian Parliament
• * The real potential of building retrofit programmes in Hungary: the NegaJoule Study by Ms Ada Amon, Director of ENERGIAKLUB Climate Policy Institute and Applied Communications