Debate: Renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood – a new agenda for the Mediterranean
Date: TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2022
Speaker: Olivér Várhelyi
Language: EN

The countries of the Southern Neighbourhood are already facing rising inflation and deteriorating socioeconomic conditions that may bring more instability and social unrest with possible consequences on additional illegal migratory flows to the EU, especially if the situation continues to aggravate.  In the energy sector, the war is affecting global energy markets, tightening the energy prices, raising concerns over our security of supply as well. The other consequence is a regional and global food crisis. The war has led to tensions on the food supply and fertilisers markets as many among our partners are heavily dependent on Ukraine’s and Russia’s exports through the Black Sea.  REPowerEU is our plan to phase out Russian fossil energy imports through diversification and fostering international partnerships, including with the Mediterranean region on LNG, natural gas and ramping up the production of green energy sources and green hydrogen. Europe needs long-term, predictable energy sources like Egypt or Israel. Discussions on how to increase natural gas supply to the EU are ongoing at the highest level between the EU and Egypt, Israel, Algeria and Qatar.  As an immediate response to the food security crisis, we have set up a regional food and resilience facility worth of EUR 225 million to tackle the consequences of rising prices of food and commodities in the region. Given these challenges and the new geopolitical context, the new agenda for the Mediterranean and its economic and investment plan, based on mutually benefited priorities and defines priorities mutually, are important and relevant for the region – more than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine have clearly demonstrated that the prosperity and stability of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East region is closely interlinked. In these turbulent times it is also of paramount importance to have reliable and predictable partners in our immediate neighbourhood. Partners with whom together we can seize the emerging new opportunities and unleash the region’s untapped potential. Partners whom we can rely on in addressing our shared challenges. Partners whom we can trust to be credible in fighting antisemitism, incitement to hatred, violence or terror. Partners who are taking bold and decisive steps to address the foundations for peace, tolerance, coexistence and non-violence.  Undoubtedly it is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship. Overall, we are on a good track to build a positive agenda and deliver this new agenda for the Mediterranean and its economic and investment plan. We need to keep investing in the real economy, creating growth and new jobs and the perspective for the youth to stay.  As you know, our economic and investment plan could mobilise up to EUR 7 billion and could trigger investments up to 30 billion. The plan is well underway and a number of projects are starting to be delivered. Let me give you a couple of examples.  We just signed a landmark trilateral energy agreement with Egypt and Israel, who are long term and reliable partners, to ensure energy security and diversification of supply for Europe. We are heavily engaged in Morocco with the King Mohammed, the sixth strategic investment fund, to support co-investments for large scale projects, for instance, in sustainable agriculture or green transition.  We have recently launched the helwan wastewater treatment plant project in Egypt that would provide safe access to improved wastewater management and services in rural areas to the benefit of approximately two million people creating thousands of new jobs.  In the area of digital connectivity, we are working together with the Economic and Investment Bank on the development of a submarine cable system to interconnect EU countries with North African countries. The project will give access to critical asset infrastructure, which will enable relationships among science, technology and innovation stakeholders and empower citizens across the southern Mediterranean.  In terms of larger infrastructure projects, we’re working on waste programmes for Jordan, as well as a desalination programme, in particular, the Aqaba-Amman water conveyor is of strategic importance.  We have started to look actively into supporting the normalisation process between Israel and some Arab neighbours in sectors where opportunities for new partnerships exist or will arise. For instance, we are advancing well to cooperate with Israel and Morocco in the field of water management. Europe should not only start understanding the new regional language since the Abraham Accords, but it should also learn to speak this language and seize the new opportunities for business people, trade and travel.  When it comes to migration, our actions go hand-in-hand with projects under the economic and investment plan, addressing root causes of migration, strengthening border control and cracking down on organised crime and smugglers. We remain vigilant about the risk of instability and potential new waves of illegal migration by keeping our level of engagement, including an annual financial assistance of at least EUR 200 million.  To this end, we are delivering life saving equipment for border management and search and rescue across the whole region in full compliance with international human rights standards.  Finally, the Commission is, of course, continuing to promote gender equality, the fight against gender-based violence and discrimination, as well as human rights and the rule of law when engaging with our neighbouring regions.  In this regard, we are maintaining the important level of financing of these actions with our programmes. These are some examples of the progress that has been achieved in the last few months. Of course, there is still very much to be done.