The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, was in Valletta, Malta, on 18-19 May to attend the first meeting of the energy ministers of MED9, an alliance of southern EU countries created in 2013 to better coordinate the green transition and secure energy supplies.
At the end of the event, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain signed the Malta Declaration. Through their joint commitment, these States have expressed their willingness to make the Mediterranean a hub for investment in green energy, with a focus on offshore renewable energy and energy interconnections between EU and non-EU Mediterranean countries, with the aim of facilitating European investment in this field.
To this end, MED9 members will launch a steering board to work together and plan the way forward for the creation of the Mediterranean green energy hub. This commitment will lead to new growth and employment opportunities in the region.
Furthermore, the energy ministers invited the European Commission to prepare a report on the potential of green energy corridors linking Europe to neighbouring countries in North Africa in order to prioritise the financing of key Mediterranean interconnections. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)