European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs participated today as a keynote speaker in the Observatoire Méditerranéen de l'Energie General Assembly meeting in Brussels with a presentation on the future of the Euro-Mediterranean energy relations. A week ahead of the 5th Euro-Mediterranean Energy Ministerial Conference that will take place in Limassol, Cyprus, on 17th December, the Commissioner called on the leading energy companies operating in this region to play an active role in supporting the EU Priority Action Plan for 2008-2013 on the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the field of energy.
“I greatly value the commitment of the companies to contribute to the regional energy cooperation. We all have a strong interest to work together to achieve the objectives of energy security and sustainability. The private sector is essential to carry out projects and provide us with new ideas," said Mr Piebalgs.
Commissioner Piebalgs informed the energy companies operating in the Euro-Mediterranean region about the latest developments of EU energy policy. Ahead of the Euromed Energy Ministerial Conference that will take place in Cyprus on 17th December, he presented the EU proposals for the Priority Action Plan for the Euro-Mediterranean energy cooperation running from 2008 to 2013 annexed to the Ministerial Declaration that is expected to be endorsed by Ministers at the Conference.
The Observatoire Méditerranéen de l'Energie is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to promote the cooperation between the major energy companies operating in the Mediterranean basin. It was created in 1988 with an important support at the start from the European Commission. The OME is an important and very involved stakeholder and supporter of the Barcelona Process – Euro-Mediterranean partnership aiming to strengthen the links between the Union and the partner countries, whilst encouraging closer ties among the Mediterranean countries themselves.
Its main aims are firstly to foster co-operation among its Members, secondly to build energy scenarios and carry out energy studies, thirdly to organise conferences, seminars, workshops, and fourthly to submit to the Governments and the European Commission, in particular, the points of view of the energy industry on important Euro-Mediterranean energy issues.
The OME is currently composed of some thirty leading energy companies operating in the Euro-Mediterranean area (e.g. Botas, DEPA, EDF, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, SUEZ-Electrabel, ENEL, ENI, the General Electricity Company of Libya, GdF, Sonatrach, Total).