The workshop took place in Vienna and was opened by Amb. Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General, and Amb. Urban Rusnák, Energy Charter Secretary General. This workshop served as an initial event to launch the preparation of a handbook on best practices to protect electricity networks from natural and man-made disasters.

Amb. Rusnák briefed the participants on the ongoing Energy Charter activities related to energy security, including the proposal on an Energy Charter Early Warning Mechanism. The Secretary General also outlined the framework of future cooperation between the Energy Charter Secretariat and the OSCE. The concluding phase of this line of cooperation will be the Bratislava Energy Charter Forum, which will be held in cooperation with the OSCE and hosted by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic on 10 October 2014. The Forum will focus on the preliminary outcomes of the work on best practices in electricity networks protection.