An international conference on energy policy to take place in Tallinn today

Today, August 21, Tallinn hosts an international conference "Emerging Energy Markets" in the conference centre of the Swissôtel. The conference, organised by Eesti Pank, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the USA think tank Global Interdependence Center (GIC), focuses on the energy policy issues of the Nordic and Baltic countries.

The main speakers of the conference are the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts, who treats the energy policy challenges in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Jean-Claude Schwartz from the European Commission, who discusses Europe's changing energy policy.

The presentations are followed by three discussion panels. The first panel provides an overview of the Nordic countries' energy markets and infrastructure. The panel is chaired by Einari Kisel, Deputy Chancellor on Energy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. In the second panel, chaired by David R. Kotok, Member of the Board of Directors of the CIC, market participants talk about the energy risks arising from the current volatile environment and possible solutions as well as about the main problems related to alternative energy sources. Andres Sutt, Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank chairs the afternoon panel, which is dedicated to trying to find answers to the question how the growing raw material prices affect economic growth and inflation and what kind of economic policies should be pursued in the current situation. The panel discussions participants include both market participants and analysts and experts from the IMF, the USA, EU Member States and the Nordic Investment Bank.

The seminar programme is available on the web site of Eesti Pank. The conference presentations will be published on the web site of Eesti Pank after the end of the conference.