A4-0296/96

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council concerning the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in the energy sector (COM(96)0149 - C4-0238/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication, COM(96)0149 - C4-0238/96,

- having regard to the motion for a resolution tabled by Mrs Ferrer on behalf of the PPE Group on the action programme for renewable energy sources in the Mediterranean basin (B4-0306/96),

- having regard to its resolutions of:

. 12 July 1991 on a revamped Mediterranean policy ((OJ C 240, 16.9.1991, p. 250.)),

. 10 October 1995 on the Green Paper 'For a European Union energy policy' ((OJ C 287, 30.10.1995, p. 34.)),

. 11 October 1995 on the Mediterranean policy of the European Union with a view to the Barcelona Conference ((OJ C 287, 30.10.1995, p. 121.)),

. 17 November 1995 on economic and trade relations between the European Union and the countries of the Mediterranean basin ((OJ C 323, 4.12.1995, p. 159.)),

. 4 July 1996 on a Community action plan for renewable energy sources ((OJ C 211, 22.7.1996, p. 27.)),

- having regard to its opinions of:

. 14 December 1995 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on financial and technical measures to support the reform of economic and social structures in Mediterranean non-member countries and territories ((OJ C 17, 22.1.1996, p. 184.)),

. 16 April 1996 on the proposal for a Council Regulation adopting a multiannual programme to promote international cooperation in the energy sector - Synergy programme ((OJ C 141, 13.5.1996, p. 52.)),

. 20 June 1996 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on financial and technical measures to accompany the reform of economic and social structures in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (MEDA) ((OJ C 198, 8.7.1996, p. 186.)),

- having regard to the Declaration issued by the March 1994 Madrid Conference, the conclusions of the Tunis and Trieste ministerial conferences (held in March 1995 and June 1996 respectively), and the Agreement concluded at the Athens Conference in November 1995,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy and the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy (A4-0296/96),

A. whereas the new basis for the Union's aspirations in relation to the Mediterranean, namely partnerships, finds its ultimate expression in the conclusions of the Barcelona Conference, which reflect a determination to establish a common area of peace and stability, create a hub of shared prosperity, develop human resources, and foster understanding among cultures and exchanges between societies,

B. whereas, at the meetings and conferences held to give specific effect to political commitments, and in particular at the recent ministerial Conference in Trieste, there has been repeated talk of the close interdependence of the Union and its Mediterranean partners in the energy sector, primarily with respect to supply, environmental protection, network and infrastructure development, scientific and technological cooperation, and security for investment as part of a multilateral legal framework,

C. whereas, despite their potential for energy production, alternative, renewable, and decentralized new energy sources are at present hardly contributing at all to production in the Mediterranean, even though progress has been made to improve the technical and commercial viability of, for example, wind-power, photovoltaic, geothermal, and hybrid systems, especially in isolated or outlying regions or localities, islands, or, more simply, areas in which infrastructure or supply is wanting,

D. whereas water shortages in the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area, which are among the most severe in the world, demand supply strategies based on efficient unconventional methods, without neglecting recycling of effluents and salt waters,

E. whereas certain existing desalination technologies, involving cogeneration of drinking-water and electricity, are highly efficient in energy terms,

F. whereas future socio-economic development of the Mediterranean area will demand substantial electricity supplies,

G. whereas, in addition to Community participation and cooperation measures in the energy sector, activities must be pursued outside the Community framework under a broader energy charter to promote greater integration and stability,

H. whereas the Euro-Mediterranean partnership will enable know-how and technologies to be transferred on a continuous basis, thus adding to the fund of knowledge and making for better education and training for the coming generations, especially where new energy technologies are concerned,

1. Considers it particularly important and desirable for the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and partnership strategy to be implemented swiftly in the energy policy sphere, in line with the distinctive features of the different partner countries, since this will undeniably help to support economic transition, enable a more secure balance to be struck in population and socio-economic terms, and act as a spur to regional geopolitical integration of non-Union countries extending from the eastern to the western shores of the Mediterranean, thereby benefiting the stability being sought for the area as a whole;

2. Believes that measures within the proposed Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum to promote any form of integration or joint action in the fields referred to above could be an invaluable incentive to lay the foundations for sustainable development for all Mediterranean countries, guaranteeing security of fuel supply for some and enabling others to forge new trade, technological, or educational ties, possibly laid down within a multilateral legal framework which, while allowing scope for exchanges and diversity, could identify economic and social imperatives, specifically those related to the environment or employment, and the obstacles militating against integration, including technological or organizational risks and the shortage of venture capital;

3. Believes that probable population growth in these states which are neighbours of the EU will have to be taken into account in the energy supply and consumption strategy and must also be regarded as a vital social factor from the point of view of consolidating the sustainable development model;

4. Believes that, to cope with possible demand trends, medium- and long-term energy policy strategies should be launched, without necessarily favouring or abandoning traditional forms of energy generation, but proceeding from the recognition that energy goes hand in hand with the development and well- being of our peoples and instituting a common philosophy to promote frugality and rationality in energy consumption in all sectors from industry to the domestic or residential sphere, and not forgetting transport, aimed also at ensuring that the proportion accounted for by the countries in question in relation to total consumption of renewable energy sources will double by the year 2010;

5. Takes the view that investment in solar cell technology should be promoted, since it is particularly worthwhile in the Mediterranean region because of the high intensity of insolation and the fact that demand is often greatest when insolation is at its highest, owing to the need for air-conditioning and refrigeration;

6. Considers it necessary to expand and enhance the potential afforded by the means of cooperation established in the European Union, for example the specific programmes and other projects implemented under the framework programmes of research, development, demonstration, and training activities or the Synergy programme or the MEDA financial and technical support measures intended to help revitalize Mediterranean policy; maintains that such a course of action would not only encourage direct exchanges of experiences, but also foster personal contacts in sectors regarded as crucially important, in particular the energy sector;

7. Supports legal options that would enable the geographical scope of the Energy Charter Treaty to be widened to include non-Union countries which belong to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership;

8. Believes that the existing Euro-Mediterranean partnerships must ensure in this context that non-Union countries do not repeat the mistakes made by the Member States in their energy management and, in practical terms, that they can escape from the system of dependent business and technological relationships usually underlying trade centred on traditional energy resources; and considers accordingly that the spread of energy technologies, in particular those related to clean, renewable forms of energy, will have to be brought into line with a technical transition arrangement drawing on the intensive cooperation of technicians, scientists, and students with the appropriate expertise in the countries concerned;

9. Calls on the Commission, in order to provide the corner-stone of the above- mentioned arrangement, to propose that a Mediterranean agency be set up to galvanize information, training, and support efforts aimed at institutes, organizations, and firms, preferably local SMUs established as a result of Euro-Mediterranean partnerships, a good example being the MEDEA study by the TERA Operations Group;

10. Calls on the Commission, in implementing the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in the energy sector, to propose measures designed to alert the area's population to the need for responsible energy consumption, and, by extension, respect for the natural environment, and educate young generations from the technical and occupational point of view so as to ensure that they have sufficient understanding and skills to cope and live with new energy technologies, this being the basis of sustainable development; a new 'Euro-Mediterranean Training Institute' could be appropriate for the above purposes;

11. Believes that the Euro-Mediterranean Training Institute should be based in a Mediterranean Member State in a geographically and economically advantageous location ensuring that excessive bias towards single subjects can be avoided; suggests, further, that the Institute should: (a) operate at several levels, providing training with a view to the transfer of appropriate technologies to promote sustainable development in the Mediterranean partners; (b) as part of its training activities, design and operate pilot systems in the various Mediterranean partners; and (c) through those systems, enable genuine spin-offs to be generated from the training programmes;

12. Calls on the Commission to embark on a demonstration pilot project in the field of integrated electricity generation to supply a small community (i.e. an 'ENERMEDVILLAGE') isolated from distribution networks, laying emphasis on the opportunities offered by hybrid and renewable sources from the point of view of achieving a high degree of self-sufficiency in clean water, pumping for agricultural purposes, desalination, recycling of effluents, and cold storage of foodstuffs;

13. Hopes that cooperation will be established with the governments of Mediterranean countries to ensure that large power-stations employ combined cycles enabling them to incorporate desalination systems - if they are located near the coast - as well as generating electricity, the aim being to optimize consumption of energy resources;

14. Believes, furthermore, that measures should be pursued with a view to upgrading energy infrastructure, in particular facilities to boost electrification in rural regions of non-Union Mediterranean countries;

15. Calls for common standards to be adopted to govern all details of projects to develop interconnections of energy systems as part of pan-European network projects and for the above networks to be complete when Mediterranean partners assume responsibility for their management, thus enabling pilot projects to be exploited to useful effect;

16. Calls accordingly for electricity networks to be interconnected with a view to maximizing the efficiency of and establishing universal standards for electricity generation and transmission systems; calls also for transcontinental gas pipelines likewise to be interconnected;

17. Calls on the Commission to maintain some political room for manoeuvre as regards project funding by considering what financing arrangements might be implemented in cooperation with Member States in order to encourage contributions to venture capital for training projects related to the environment, renewables, and water resources, to be encompassed within the Euro-Mediterranean partnership;

18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.