The Energy Community Ministerial Council on Thursday accepted Moldova's plea to postpone implementation of the Third Energy Package. The Moldovan Ministry of Economy said in a press release that at its meeting in Budva, Montenegro, the Ministerial Council acknowledged the progress made by Moldova in implementing the Energy Community Treaty. Moldova in particular requested a postponement for the transposition and implementation of Directive 2009/73/EC on natural gas rules, and more exactly of its Article 9, which imposes unbundling requirements for gas transmission systems and their operators. Moldova requested a postponement until 2020. The Contracting Parties supported Moldova's request and the Ministerial Council's decision to this effect will be formalized in the near future. The Ministerial Council also decided to create a joint group composed of EU, Moldovan and Ukrainian experts to assist these countries with implementing the Package. European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger asked the member countries of the Energy Community Secretariat to provide assistance to Moldova to strengthen its energy security by adopting relevant decisions. The European Energy Community is an association of European Union member states and South East European countries that aims to create a pan-European electricity and gas market among them.