Berlin yesterday hosted a regular 19th meeting of the European Business Congress (EBC) Presiding Committee headed by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, President of EBC.

In compliance with the agenda the Presiding Committee addressed and endorsed the Congress Budget for 2009, heard reports by heads of the Working Committees, discussed the progress in implementing the projects with financial support from the EBC.

Presenting his speech at the EBC Presiding Committee meeting was Alexey Miller. He placed a special emphasis on the current status of the global economy, and, foremost, on the financial markets infrastructure. It was underlined that the exchange and over-the-counter feedstock trade were currently imbalanced. This called for a cardinal restructuring of the international exchange system for feedstock trading.

The key aspects of this problem, as well as the accompanying issues are proposed for discussion at the next EBC General Meeting in June 2009.

In his speech Alexey Miller also drew the meeting’s special attention to the rapidly aggravating situation of Ukraine’s defaulted payments for the supplied gas.

“The further deepening of the problem is fraught with grave consequences, which cannot be disregarded,” stated Alexey Miller.

Background:

Founded in December 1997 for the purpose of promoting integration processes within the OSCE economic space and fostering a continual dialogue between the political and the business community, the European Business Congress (EBC) is an international, non-governmental and non-profit organization.

As of December 2008 EBC has 112 members from 22 OSCE states. EBC’s supreme body is the General Assembly. The current activities are performed by the Presiding Committee, the Board of Directors, the Secretariat and seven Working Committees for:

- energy;

- law banking and finance;

- industry and construction;

- ecology and healthcare;

- business security;

- information and communications;

- human resources education and science.