Sixth edition of the Refining Forum

Sixth edition of the Refining Forum

Mar 29, 2016

On March the 1st, 2016, the Refining Forum achieved an important milestone when it convened for its sixth edition, with the participation of Climate Action & Energy Commissioner, Arias Canete, MEP Elissabeta Gardini, the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Member States, the Commission, industry representatives, experts, and other stakeholders. A bit of history, first: on May the 15th, 2012, Commissioner Oettinger organised an EU Refining Roundtable, at which the representatives of 21 EU Member States, Members of the European Parliament, the EU refining industry, and trade unions, shared views on the difficulties faced by the EU oil refining sector and called for co-ordinated action at the EU level. As a response to these requests, the Commission organised an EU Refining Conference on November the 26th, 2012, where stakeholders gave their views on the Commission’s proposals for a horizontal sectoral fitness check of oil refining as announced in October, 2012, in the Commission’s Communication on industrial policy, and on setting up an EU Refining Forum. The aim of the EU Refining Forum is to provide an opportunity for the industry, Member States, Members of the European Parliament, the Commission, and other stakeholders to come together and discuss planned and future regulatory proposals, with potentially significant impacts on the EU’s oil refining industry and on the EU's security of supply of petroleum products. The 6th Refining Forum, with a record participation of 140 attendees, and a list of prestigious speakers, witnessed all stakeholders recognising the economic and social value of the European refining sector, and calling for a continued review of the Fitness Check, and its use in assessing the cumulative impact of [...]