BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, Oct 13, 2005 -- Xinhua

 

The Serbian government approved on Thursday an agreement to create a Balkan energy community to regulate the natural gas and electric power markets in the region.

The agreement, the first document to define the conditions for the Balkan republic's integration in the European Union (EU), will be signed by the EU with nine countries and regions on Oct. 25 in Athens, said Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining Radomir Naumov.

The agreement, a legally binding contract, will soon be expanded to cover also the trade in oil and oil products, Naumov said.

He said that the agreement provides a regulation framework and introduces market mechanisms and environment protection standards.

The agreement will be signed by Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Turkey and the UN administered Serbian province of Kosovo.

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