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Euro-Mediterranean energy cooperation: working together for secure and sustainable energy
12-04-2012
Ensuring energy security, environmental sustainability, technology cooperation, and socio-economic development is a key priority of the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Partnership, in a context dominated by growing concerns over energy security, climate change and the link between energy and development.
Energy needs in the Euro-Mediterranean region are growing rapidly, requiring large-scale investment in the coming decades, as well as development and exploitation of their energy potential, in order to achieve reliable, diversified, adequate and affordable energy supplies.
To do so, increased energy solidarity is essential for strong and sustainable economic growth, socio-economic development and competitiveness.
Energy cooperation is thus a central part of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, focusing around a number of key priorities: working towards integration of Euro-Mediterranean electricity and gas markets; increasing security and safety of energy supplies; strengthening energy interconnections (both South-South and North-South); promoting renewable energy and efficient energy; and harmonising rules and standards.
In an increasingly interconnected world, cooperation with its neighbours is also essential to the EU's own energy needs, as spelled out in the opening statement from the External Dimension webpage of the EU's Directorate General on Energy: "If it is to achieve its goal of secure, competitive and sustainable energy, the EU must involve and cooperate with other countries, be they producers, transit countries or consumers."
EU neighbours include both producers and transit countries essential to the EU's energy supply, at a time when, according to the European Commission, the share of imported energy in the EU – currently 80% for oil and over 60% for gas – continues to rise.
In September 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication on security of energy supply and international cooperation, setting out for the first time a comprehensive strategy for the EU's external relations in energy, which proposes greater transparency among Member States on energy agreements with third countries and stronger coordination in relations with partner countries.
Presenting the Communication, Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said: “EU energy policy has made real progress over the last several years. Now, the EU must extend the achievements of its large internal energy market beyond its borders to ensure the security of energy supplies to Europe and foster international energy partnerships.”
Sustainable energy is a key contributor to energy security. Welcoming the United Nations' rallying call in the framework of the 2012 UN Year of Sustainable Energy for All, the EU has set out an ambitious agenda to help achieve this key objective by 2030. As spelled out in the EU's Agenda for Change, access to energy is one of the top priorities of the European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs.
The European Commission supports the UN initiative with the three interlinked objectives:
• ensuring universal access to modern energy services;
• doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency;
• doubling the share of renewables in the global energy mix.
Speaking at the European launch of the Year of Sustainable Energy for All in February 2012, Commissioner Piebalgs said: "With around €2 billion of grants allocated to the energy sector in the developing countries during the last 7 years, the EU is a leader in empowering the world. Through the promotion of our technology and expertise combined with a targeted use of our aid funding, we will aim to increase access to modern energy services for the world's poorest."
The European Commission is organising a Sustainable Energy for All summit, gathering high-ranking decision-makers to engage the development community to achieve the Sustainable Energy for All initiative. The summit will take place on 16 April in Brussels.
The CIUDAD programme
As part of its commitment to sustainable energy, the EU funds the €14 million interregional CIUDAD programme devoted to sustainable urban development. The programme funds 21 projects that aim to help local governments in the ENPI region address urban development problems in a sustainable manner, promoting cooperation between local actors and their EU counterparts. One of its three thematic priorities is environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.
Creating a more integrated Mediterranean energy market is of primary importance for coping with the fast growing energy demand in the Southern Mediterranean Countries, while favouring low-carbon and renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership agreed as far back as 1998 that work on energy issues should cover the following priorities:
• Security of supply
• Energy industry competitiveness
• Environmental protection and sustainable development
In 2007, Euro-Mediterranean Energy Ministers meeting in Cyprus signed up to the 2008-2013 Priority Action Plan for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the field of energy, which put an increased emphasis on the necessity of ensuring security of energy supply through better interconnections and increased regional integration.
The Action Plan has three priority areas:
• To ensure the improved harmonisation of energy markets and legislation and to pursue the integration of energy markets in the Euro-Mediterranean region;
• To promote sustainable development in the energy sector;
• To develop initiatives of common interest in key areas, such as infrastructure extension, investment financing and research and development.
In support of these objectives, the EU funds a number of regional projects aimed at creating a more integrated Euro-Mediterranean energy market:
MED-REG II - Energy regulators (2010-2012):Supports the development of a modern and efficient energy regulatory framework in the Mediterranean Partner Countries and strengthens their cooperation with EU energy regulators - http://medreg.ipi.it/
MED-EMIP - energy cooperation (2007-2010):A platform for energy policy dialogue and exchange of experiences, leading to enhanced Euro-Med cooperation, integration of the energy markets and improved security and sustainability - http://www.medemip.eu/
MED-ENEC II - Energy efficiency in construction (2009-2013):Encourages energy efficiency and the use of solar energy in the construction sector, through capacity building, fiscal and economic instruments and pilot projects - http://www.med-enec.com/
EAMGM II – Euro-Arab Mashreq Gas Market Project (2010-2013): Supports the development of an integrated gas market between Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey in order to create a regional gas market and as a step towards integrating with the EU gas market - http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=302&id_type=10
Electricity market integration (2007-2010): Supported the development of an integrated electricity market between Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and between these three Maghreb countries and the EU, through the harmonization of their legislative and regulatory framework - http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=25&id_type=10
See below for ENPI Info Centre feature stories and photos illustrating the impact of cooperation projects on the ground.
The Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) aims to meet the major energy and climate challenges confronting the Mediterranean region and the European Union in the coming decades. It is one of six key initiatives of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), launched in Paris on 13 July, 2008.
The Plan has two complementary targets: developing 20 GW of new renewable energy production capacities, and achieving significant energy savings around the Mediterranean by 2020, thus addressing both supply and demand.
According to a 2010 strategy paper, the MSP will co-operate with existing structures in the field of renewable energy and grid infrastructure development, with a specific focus on the following:
• Setting up an adequate legal, regulatory, economic, institutional and organisational environment to enable the development and massive deployment of solar energy and other renewable energy technologies, and to facilitate their exchange or trade.
• Examine and promote, in cooperation with European and International Financial Institutions, the best use of all possibilities to finance investments in renewable energy.
• Promote the development of electricity interconnections in order to establish a viable 'green electricity' import and export framework.
• Support energy efficiency initiatives and energy savings to realise energy saving goals by 2020.
• Facilitate extensive co-operation on all technology aspects
• Avail all EU carbon mechanisms for the benefits of both Mediterranean sides with the purpose of improving the economics of projects under the MSP.
• Continue regular dialogue between stakeholders of the MSP for close coordination and successful implementation.
Paving the way for the Mediterranean Solar Plan – The MSP is supported by a €5 million EU-funded technical assistance project, which supports the Mediterranean Partner Countries in creating conditions conducive to greater use of renewable energy in general and solar energy in particular. The project aims to contribute to a significant increase in deployment of sustainable energy systems based on solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, combined with energy efficiency and savings in the region. http://pavingtheway-msp.eu/
Rising to the energy challenge has been an imperative for the European Investment's Bank's Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) since it was established at the end of 2002. Since then, FEMIP has dedicated €5.1 billion to energy projects in the Mediterranean partner countries.
FEMIP's activity in this sector aims at improving the local population's access to energy; integrating Euro-Mediterranean energy markets; and diversifying sources of supply, particularly through the use of renewables.
This third area is of growing importance for the Bank. At the FEMIP Ministerial Meeting in October 2008, the EIB was asked to play a key role in the implementation of the UfM's Mediterranean Solar Plan, with the EIB called to draw up an investment plan for the development of solar energy in the Mediterranean region.
FEMIP supports the energy industry with a wide range of instruments: loans, technical assistance and sectoral studies.
The Gabal el Zait wind farm in Egypt is among FEMIP's recent projects in the area of renewable energy. The €50m loan provided by the Bank in 2009 will support the construction of a 200 MW onshore wind farm on the Red Sea coast, which is part of an ambitious national programme to further expand power generation from renewable energy.
In Tunisia, the EIB provided €194 million to build a gas turbine power plant in Sousse with a capacity of 400 MW. The project will operate through a combined-cycle technology that increases the thermal efficiency of the system and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the project is the cost-effective supply of electricity, both to meet the growth in demand and to ensure security of supply, and therefore contribute to the country’s economic growth.
In the most recent period, renewable energies have increased their share in the EIB pipeline. This trend has also been mirrored in the Mediterranean region, which benefits from favourable conditions in terms of renewable energy sources, in particular, regarding sunshine and wind.
Launched in 2008, the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) is an innovative financial instrument of the European Neighbourhood Policy, whose primary objective is to finance with a mix of grants and loans key infrastructure projects in the transport, energy, social and environment sectors, as well as to support private sector development in the Neighbourhood Region.
In 2011, energy projects accounted for 29% of total NIF contributions. In the Southern Neighbourhood, the NIF is supporting the first phase of the Ouarzazate Solar Power Plant project in Morocco with a grant of €30 million in addition to the €515 million loans from European Finance Institutions (EIB, AFD and KfW). This key project of the Mediterranean Solar Planwill enable the future generation of solar energy, allowing Morocco to diversify its energy sources and, possibly in the long run, to export part of its energy production to the EU.
The Covenant of Mayors is a European movement through which local and regional authorities voluntarily commit to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources on their territories, which is also open to local authorities beyond the borders of the European Union. By their commitment, Covenant signatories aim to meet and exceed the European Union’s 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020. Local and regional authorities have a particularly important role to play given that 80% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions is associated with urban activity.
As of April 2011, 3,754 cities and towns in all 27 EU Member States and in third countries as far afield as Kyrgyzstan and Argentina had signed the Covenant, representing a population in excess of 159 million people.
In the southern Neigbourhood, the Moroccan city of Salé is the first in the region to have signed up to the Covenant of Mayors, with the help of the help of an EU-funded project, ‘Sustainable Urban Energy in the ENPI region – towards the Covenant of Mayors (SURE)’, implemented under the CIUDAD programme, for which energy efficiency in urban development is one of the three priorities.
In addition, the EU is planning a €5 million contract for a 36-month technical assistance project to encourage and support local authorities in the Mediterranean partner countries to achieve more sustainable local policies and eventually to prepare them for signing up to the Covenant of Mayors.
The project will help local authorities significantly to increase the use of sustainable policies falling under their competence such as renewable energy solutions and energy efficiency measures to reduce CO2 emissions as well as efficient water and waste management, use of environmentally friendly public transport and mobility means, etc.
The ENPI Info Centre has brought together a host of materials illustrating the impact of Euro-Mediterranean energy cooperation on the ground.
Feature stories, including:
- In the Egyptian desert, 100,000 mirrors tracking the sun – Tracking the Sun, ENPI Info Centre feature on MED-EMIP and MED-REG projects
- Cutting edge technology to reduce energy consumption – Building for the future, ENPI Info Centre feature on MED-ENEC project
- "If this project didn't exist, we'd have to invent it!" – Sharing a good energy, ENPI Info Centre feature on MED-REG project
- Developing energy, boosting the economy and linking the region – Energy generation and supply, EuropeAid case study on Euro-Arab Mashreq Gas Market Project
Photo galleries, including Energy: EU cooperation with neighbours and photos from the Koraymat solar energy site in Egypt.
A video gallery bringing together a range of EU and project videos on energy cooperation.
The EU Neighbourhood library, hosting key documents on energy cooperation.
ENPI Info Centre – energy webpage http://www.enpi-info.eu/thememed.php?subject=5
ENPI Info Centre – energy features http://www.enpi-info.eu/list_type_med.php?id_type=6&subject=5
ENPI Info Centre – energy photo galleries http://www.enpi-info.eu/list_galleries_med.php?subject=5
ENPI Info Centre – energy quotes http://www.enpi-info.eu/list_type.php?id_type=11&subject=5
ENPI Info Centre – EU Neighbourhood Library energy documents http://www.enpi-info.eu/library/theme/energy
DG Energy external dimension – the Mediterranean http://ec.europa.eu/energy/international/euromed_en.htm
DG Energy external dimension – Security of supply and international cooperation http://ec.europa.eu/energy/international/security_of_supply/cooperation_en.htm
EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/energy/sustainable/se4all_en.htm
United Nations Sustainable Energy for All http://www.sustainableenergyforall.org/
DG Development and Cooperation EuropeAid – Energy http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/energy/index_en.htm
DG Development and Cooperation EuropeAid regional cooperation south – Sustainable economic development http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/enpi-south/sustainable/index_en.htm
Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat – Energy http://www.ufmsecretariat.org/en/energy/
European External Action Service – External action and energy policy http://eeas.europa.eu/energy/index_en.htm
EIB – FEMIP energy projects http://femip10.eib.org/sectors/energy.htm
NIF – 2011 annual report http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/irc/documents/annual_report_2011_nif_en.pdf
The Covenant of Mayors http://www.eumayors.eu/index_en.html
MED-REG II - Energy regulators (2010-2012) http://medreg.ipi.it/
MED-EMIP - energy cooperation (2007-2010) http://www.medemip.eu/
MED-ENEC II - Energy efficiency in construction (2009-2013) http://www.med-enec.com/
EAMGM II – Euro-Arab Mashreq Gas Market Project (2010-2013) http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=302&id_type=10
Electricity market integration (2007-2010) http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=25&id_type=10
The Mediterranean Solar Plan – ENPI Info Centre press pack http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=96&id_type=3&lang_id=450
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