Oct 14 - BBC Monitoring European

A survey has found that Slovenia's ability to avert or recover from sudden or prolonged energy shocks is better than in 11 other Central and Eastern European countries.

Slovenia has emerged on top of the rankings, ahead of Italy, Slovakia, Greece and Hungary, according to Borut Grgic of the Institute for Strategic Studies, which carried out the survey in association with the risk consultancy Onamics.

The survey, which was presented in Ljubljana on Friday [14 October], measured a country's ability to withstand shocks, looked into political stability, the diversification of energy sources and energy efficiency.

Although it emerged on top of the rankings, Slovenia has some problems: it is overly dependent on fossil fuels (coal and oil), and it relies too much on nuclear power to meet its electricity needs.

According to Pablo Reyes, executive vice-president of Onamics, Slovenia should diversify its energy portfolio to increase the share of renewable energy, which would boost its energy independence.

Grgic added that Slovenia should provide for energy independence at the regional level: it should act as the link between the energy infrastructure of the Balkans and that of the EU.

The survey has also shown that EU membership improves energy security; with European energy markets increasingly integrating, they are becoming more resistant to shocks, he said.