Brussels, 11/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 11 July, European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger and Malta's Minister for Energy Konrad Mizzi announced an agreement in principle between the ministers from the EU countries, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean (taking part in an energy conference in Valletta the same day) on the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean gas platform - which would bring together policy makers, industry representatives, regulators and energy stakeholders.
The objective of the platform is to ensure greater convergence between the policies of the various countries, address the production challenges in advance, promote third party investment in advance, improve the conditions for imports of oil and gas from producing countries, and develop the necessary infrastructure of common interest, say Oettinger and Mizzi in a joint statement. Furthermore, the platform will facilitate market access, technical cooperation, and the examination of price-setting mechanisms, and will strengthen cooperation on safety and security, says the statement.
More generally, the Euro-Mediterranean gas platform would contribute to promoting regional energy security, and to the ongoing efforts to strengthen the EU's energy security and to reach its interconnection objectives for 2030. The platform's scope of work and its operating rules could be developed with the support of the Observatoire Méditerranéen de l'Energie, the statement from Oettinger and Mizzi points out.
The way the platform works will be discussed in coming months so as to establish a draft that can be submitted for approval at the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership conference in Rome on 19 November. (EH)