Brussels, 21/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - A conference on cross-border cooperation in the Mediterranean, focusing specifically on energy efficiency, was held in Tunis on Tuesday 20 October.
The session looked at “energy renovation in housing”, and brought together experts from countries on both the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. The conclusion drawn by the conference participants is that “most of the housing that has been build in the Mediterranean countries over the last 50 years constitutes significant sources of energy expenditure (nearly 30% of the EU's final energy consumption) and contributes considerably to greenhouse gas emissions”.
The overall objective of the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme is to “to promote the sustainable and harmonious cooperation process at the Mediterranean Basin level by dealing with the common challenges and enhancing its endogenous potential”.
This programme is “a multilateral Cross-Border Cooperation initiative funded by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI)”. Projects are promoted as part of the programme - which is itself coordinated and managed by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy). Projects cover areas such as urban development, territorial planning, climate change, local governance and cultural dialogue. The programme benefits from EU funding (€173.6 million from both the European Regional Development Fund and the EU budget). (Original version in French by Fathi B'Chir)