Brussels, 23/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - France, which is co-president of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), considers that, despite delays due to the conflict in Gaza, “technical projects” have made headway. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Paris said on 21 July after a visit by the other co-president, Hosni Moubarak, President of Egypt, that the “solar project has even been partly financed. But there is no political agreement and there will not be one right now”. A decision is expected on this matter during the meeting of foreign ministers in Istanbul, in November. “In the meantime, we are moving forward”, he added. The spokesman points out that, two weeks ago in Paris, the theme was evoked during the informal meeting on sustainable development and the environment. He sees this as a “positive sign that the other ministerial meetings will be scheduled. There will be four of them by the end of the year”, he said.
On 10 June, the European Commission suggested that €5 million be made available (out of a total €72 million allocation for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation) for projects in the field of alternative energies, and especially for the Mediterranean solar energy project. It considers that the creation of a Mediterranean solar plan is one of the main concrete initiatives of the UfM. To support this initiative, it is currently conducting studies aimed at identifying the most effective strategy for the Mediterranean solar energy plan.
This project was among those tackled by experts meeting at the end of June in Sharm el Sheikh as part of the MED-EMIP (Euro-Mediterranean Energy Market Integration Project) network supported by the EU. Four of the main challenges relating to sustainable energy in the region were covered at that meeting, MED-EMIP officials say. These were: - the emergence of a regulatory framework in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and the promotion of renewable energies there; - the solar plan for the Mediterranean; - the funding of renewable energy projects; - and the transfer of technology and local production. (F.B./transl.jl)