PARIS, March 7 (UPI) -- Slovakia Wednesday became the 27th member of the International Energy Agency.
"The country plays an important role in Europe´s energy supply chain. Its geographic position as a key energy transit country in Central and Eastern Europe means that its membership will greatly enhance the agency´s presence and energy security in the region," said the IEA's Executive Director Claude Mandil.
The agency said Slovakia is a net exporter of refined petroleum products, and is also a "vital transit" for both crude oil and natural gas. It also said that the country has fulfilled its membership obligations, and has accumulated emergency oil stocks in excess of 100 days of net imports and can expect to remain consistently compliant with the agency's minimum stockholding obligation. The minimum stockholding is 90 days of the previous year's net oil imports.
"The Slovak Republic has taken impressive steps to provide for its own energy protection and made remarkable progress in transforming its energy sector into a market-orientated one that is based on the principles reflected in the IEA shared goals," Mandil said.
