Brussels, 08/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - In Rabat on Wednesday 6 May, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete and Morocco's Minister for Energy Abdelkader Amara presented three new Euro-Mediterranean platforms - on gas, the regional electricity market, and renewable energies and energy efficiency. These platforms had been announced previously and will be coordinated by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Due to the similarity of the energy situations on both sides of the Mediterranean, “we must work together to create common solutions”, Canete said.
The themes given to these platforms are, for gas, to determine how to develop production in North Africa and in the Eastern Mediterranean, targeting domestic markets and exports to the EU. Work on the platform on the regional electricity market will focus on the gradual removal of technical and regulatory barriers which prevent free trade in electricity across the countries of the EU and Euro-Mediterranean area.
As regards renewable energy and energy efficiency, the platform for this will have to analyse how to promote appropriate regulatory frameworks and markets, and how to encourage investment in renewable energies and energy savings. It will also deal with promoting the exchange of good practice in energy efficiency, developing national plans in this area and determining specific standards for housing and appliances. (Fathi B'Chir)