Promoting low-carbon energies in the Mediterranean Partner Countries

Policy Paper 80

Gonzalo Escribano, Director of the Energy Program, Real Instituto Elcano ? Renewable energies remain marginal in the European neighbourhood, and their contribution to economic and human development is still largely unexplored. Directive 2009/28 on renewable energies explicitly contemplates green electricity imports from third countries, and the Mediterranean Solar Plan offers an economic and institutional framework for its deployment in the Southern neighbourhood. This paper addresses the question of whether these initiatives have the potential to become a driver for the development of the Southern neighbourhood or should instead be better considered as an EU-centric project to support European renewable industries and engineering firms. This paper argues that, in order to become a driver of economic development for the region, those initiatives should consider accompanying measures to foster investment, training, industrial delocalisation, and technology transfers.

| 04/03/2013

| Gonzalo Escribano |

| Energy and climate

This Policy
Paper is a contribution of Gonzalo Escribano(Elcano), to the project Think Global – Act European (TGAE). Thinking strategically
about the EU’s external action directed by Notre Europe –
Jacques Delors Institute (May 2013, dir. Elvire Fabry, Senior Research Fellow, Notre
Europe – Jacques Delors Institute).

Renewable energies remain marginal in the European neighbourhood, and their contribution to economic and human development is still largely unexplored. Directive 2009/28 on renewable energies explicitly contemplates green electricity imports from third countries, and the Mediterranean Solar Plan offers an economic and institutional framework for its deployment in the Southern neighbourhood. This paper addresses the question of whether these initiatives have the potential to become a driver for the development of the Southern neighbourhood or should instead be better considered as an EU-centric project to support European renewable industries and engineering firms. This paper argues that, in order to become a driver of economic development for the region, those initiatives should consider accompanying measures to foster investment, training, industrial delocalisation, and technology transfers.

Before the publication of the final report presenting the key recommendations of the 16 think tanks involved in the project, 5 series of policy papers address the following key challenges: migration,EU neighbourhood, CSDP, strategic resources and economic policy (publication on March 12th).

This Policy Paper is part of the series entitled “EU resource management: what European external action strategy?” which
includes contributions by Sami Andoura (Notre Europe – Jacques Delors Institute), Clémentine d’Oultremont (Egmont), Annika Ahtonen et Andrea Frontini (EPC), Nadège Chambon (Notre Europe – Jacques Delors Institute)et Stephen Tindale (CER).

Go to the other contributions of the resource management series >>

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