Brussels, 04/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete is visiting Algeria on Tuesday 5 May for the second session of the high level political dialogue on energy - a specific EU dialogue on the EU's cooperation with Algeria (a country that supplies the EU with gas and oil and that readily underlines its special role in the region). Canete will continue his visit in the region with a trip to Morocco on 6-7 May to speak about “the links between the EU and its partners in the southern and eastern regions of the Mediterranean with regard to energy and climate”. The objective is to determine how to deepen these links in this ever more pressing climate and energy context. The event is being organised by the EU together with Morocco and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
On 6 May, Canete will present “three new Euro-Mediterranean platforms”, it is reported in Brussels. Each of these platforms will focus on a type of energy production - gas, the regional electricity market, and renewable energies - as well as on energy efficiency, and aims to “stimulate dialogue, facilitate partnerships between energy actors, and strengthen cooperation between the countries of the UfM”. The debates will cover “market integration, developing new sustainable energy technologies and removing obstacles to investment in the region - for example at the regulatory level or due to the lack of infrastructure”, a European press release states (our translation throughout).
On 7 May, Canete will co-chair the UfM high level conference on climate change. This is a preparatory session at regional level for the world climate conference that will take place in Paris in December. (Fathi B'Chir)