The Energy Community Secretariat said it is setting up a regional oil coordination group that will strengthen early warning and joint crisis response in Southeastern and Eastern Europe amid rising global oil costs triggered by the Middle East supply disruptions.

The group will bring together the nine member states of the Energy Community - Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia from the Western Balkans, along with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - to monitor regional oil markets and share data on supply and demand, the Energy Community said in a statement earlier this week, reported by SeeNews.

“Markets across the region have shown considerable flexibility in maintaining physical supplies, despite high import dependency, growing oil consumption and exposure to global supply risks,” the Energy Community said, referring to the ongoing Middle East war-related global oil market turbulence. “At the same time, continued exposure to international price pressures and supply-chain disruptions highlights the importance of maintaining flexible supply arrangements, regional cooperation, and adequate emergency stocks.

The key task of the oil coordination group will be to exchange information on supply, demand and emergency stocks, and assess emerging supply risks and infrastructure developments. It shall help the region identify potential shortages early and coordinate its response, similar to what the EU's own oil coordination group (OCG) does for its member states.

The Energy Community, which supports EU neighbours toward EU membership through full implementation of the EU energy law, also said it will publish soon its first ever report that tracks the progress of building adequate stockholding systems across the oil markets in its region. The report shows that “Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia all have dedicated legislation in place and have already built physical stocks, currently providing around 45–50 days of coverage, compared with the 90-day target.”

At the same time, Albania’s draft legislation has been nearing completion, whereas Moldova, which has also fully transposed the EU energy legislation, shall now move quickly to implementation, and in particular to building physical stocks. "Contracting Parties that are still lagging should follow suit and urgently put the necessary legal frameworks and physical stocks in place," the Energy Community noted.