The Turkish energy regulator decided on the presidency of the Mediterranean Energy Regulators, MEDREG on Thursday with the election of Gülefşan Demirbaş, the head of the Strategy Development Department for Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA).
Member regulators from 21 countries including Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia convened in Istanbul for the 26th General Assembly to elect the association's new president for a period of two years.
Demirbaş, a Turkish female bureaucrat, and the head of the Strategy Development Department at EMRA was elected as the new president of MEDREG.
Previously, under her former mandate, she acted as the MEDREG vice president. She has also garnered vast experience on the organization's priorities and challenges in her capacity as a long-time member of MEDREG's working groups.
"Our organization will continue to play a major role in the Mediterranean in enhancing regulatory stability and in contributing to socioeconomic prosperity in the region by supporting the establishment of secure, sustainable and competitive Mediterranean energy markets," Demirbaş said in her speech after the election.
MEDREG's actions should be more in line with national realities to deliver concrete and effective results, she emphasized in the inaugural address.
"Therefore, MEDREG is fully committed to respond to its members' expectations for technical assistance, in particular from our southern countries, through constant dialogue and an in-depth understanding of their priorities," she said.
MEDREG is the Association of Mediterranean Energy Regulators, which brings together 25 regulators from 21 countries, spanning the European Union (EU), the Balkans and North Africa.
These Mediterranean regulators work together to promote greater compatibility of regional energy markets and legislation, and seek progressive market integration in the Euro-Mediterranean basin.
