Brussels, 19/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - At a ministerial conference on “Renewable energy and energy efficiency - innovative policy and financial instruments for the countries to the south and east of the EU” in Berlin on 19 April, the German presidency of the Council, through ministers Heidemerie Wieczorek-Zeul (Development) and Sigmar Gabriel (Environment), promised greater cooperation between the EU and its neighbouring countries, particularly in renewable energy. Addressing their counterparts from Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Caucasus, Ms Wieczorek-Zeul and Mr Gabriel said that, by 2013, the EU would be providing some €11.2 billion through the new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument for cooperation with neighbouring countries in the field of energy, a large part of which will be in renewables and energy efficiency. “There was a consensus that a larger share of this than before should be used to expand the use of renewable energies and for measures to enhance energy efficiency,” says a press release from the German presidency. Mr Gabriel gave as an example of this type of cooperation the use of solar resources in North Africa and wind power projects in Morocco, Egypt and in the Caucasus. The German presidency hopes this conference will help spread the themes of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the countries to the south and east of the EU which come under the European Neighbourhood Policy, and will make the decision-makers in these countries more aware of the possibilities and benefits of promoting renewables and energy economy. This dialogue is lending vital new momentum to an expansion of the dialogue on the political, economic and regulatory framework required to promote domestic renewable energies and energy efficiency and on innovative financing models and instruments. (eh)