The Association of the Mediterranean Transmission Systems Operators, Med-Tso, has approved a 20 billion Euro “energy development plan” for the next 10 years, on the occasion of the General Assembly held in Paris on 9 December 2013. Today the plan will be presented to the 43 Energy Ministers of the Euro-Mediterranean region on the occasion of the Conference on Energy. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) has also contributed to the drafting of the Ministerial declaration which is expected to be adopted in Brussels at the end of the event.
The aim of the project, the details of which had already been discussed with PAM in Ouarzazate and Rabat in Morocco, on the occasion of two major energy related events, both organized by the Energy Group of the Panel on Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, is to implement an integrated energy system that can contribute to the security of electricity supply and the overall development of the region. This can only be achieved through the support of the underlying complementarity among the different Mediterranean countries based on multilateral cooperation and the upgrading of the interconnection infrastructure.
“The National parliaments of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean have a key role to play in setting up the necessary legislative and regulatory frameworks to support investments, including in the renewable energy sector. Energy has always been high on our agenda, and the Med-Tso plan goes in this direction and PAM will do its part at the parliamentary level”, PAM Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi commented.
In Ouarzazate, it was also highly recommended that PAM should facilitate the establishment of a “Mediterranean Community of Energy”, in order to ensure coordination among the key actors concerned (parliaments, governments, industry, investors), as far as projects based on renewable energy, the reinforcement of national and regional transmission grids, as well as the promotion of investments and clear legal frameworks, are concerned.
Energy is fundamental and critical for its numerous interconnections with other sensitive issues, such as regional stability and security. We cannot imagine a stable and peaceful region without the development of a legal and institutional framework to protect and guide the interests of the Mediterranean region, and participate in the design of future markets. Med-Tso and MEDREG, two partners of PAM, have our total support in their activities to reach this ambitious but necessary objective”, PAM Secretary General said.
The Association of the Mediterranean Transport System Operators (Med-Tso) was launched in Naples, Italy, on the occasion of the international high-level conference on “Mediterranean Energy Highways: an urgent need”, co-organized by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and MEDREG on 17 November 2011.
The aim of Med-Tso is to facilitate the dialogue and cooperation between the Transport System Operators and the Institutions in order to promote a coordinated and proactive development of the electricity grids and of the Mediterranean connections.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, through its Energy Group, within the PAM Panel on Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean, has taken a leading regional role in gathering the major stakeholders of the energy sector in order to facilitate the consolidation of a stable, harmonized regulation plan that can guarantee a sustainable development in all the Mediterranean countries.
The Med-Tso Association was set up with the assistance of TERNA SpA, the Italian Tso, the Algerian electric company SONELGAZ and the Tunisian electric company STEG, and MEDREG. MEDREG and Med-Tso, two Observers to the Assembly, are PAM key partners on energy related issues. PAM considers the cooperation with MEDREG and Med-Tso as its preferential channel for ongoing and future collaboration between energy stakeholders and parlamentarians in the region.