Intervention by Hon. Pedro Roque,
Member of the Portuguese Delegation to PAM,
on the occasion of the
14th MEDREG GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Lisbon, Portugal, 15 November 2012
Check against delivery
Mr. President,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure for me to represent the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean at this event, and I would like to thank President Otmane for the kind invitation. PAM is glad to be present, once again, at your General Assembly and is proud of its strong partnership with MEDREG. I would like to recall that MEDREG is the first international institution that received the Observer status to our Assembly in 2008, and since, we have been working together on the sensitive and strategic issue of energy, a key topic for our region, in terms of sustainable development but also in connection with security and political stability.
As you know, PAM focuses on this fundamental issue especially through the work of its Panel on Trade and Investment in the Mediterranean operating under the authority of the second Standing Committee dedicated to Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation.
Our work with MEDREG has, as objectives, to reach secure, convenient and environmentally sustainable energy systems, at a cost affordable by our citizens. Such an achievement is necessary to protect and guide the interests of the Mediterranean region in the design of future markets, in order to achieve peace and stability in our countries.
Our institutions witnessed in Naples, last year, the launch of Med-TSO on the occasion of the PAM Panel Energy Group meeting dedicated to the “Mediterranean Energy Highways”. The cooperation with MEDREG and Med-TSO represents for PAM a preferential channel for future collaboration between energy stakeholders and parliamentarians in the region. I would like to thank MEDREG, once again, on behalf of PAM for its unique support to the success of the Naples meeting.
A few months ago, PAM and MEDREG participated to the first General Assembly of Med-TSO held in Tunis, where it was emphasised that PAM is capable of contributing to Med-TSO activities as a connecting platform with the national parliaments, in a single forum, as we already do with your institution and other sectoral corporative instruments. By using this institutional channel, Med-TSO can, as MEDREG already does, count on a solid base to establish and maintain a constant dialogue with the political institutions, elected representatives of the populations of the entire basin, addressing those issues of common concern directly to those who shape the political life of their countries.
As many of you know, our Assembly does not have large financial resources to support your activities. However, we can ensure that your work is recognised at the highest level. For instance, PAM addressed the High Level Segment of the United Nations General Assembly at a special session on Energy. On that occasion, we conveyed the views and opinions of PAM on the important role of MEDREG, and we informed the “UN – Energy for All” group, launched by Ban Ki-moon and directed by Mr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director General of UNIDO.
Furthermore, our Assembly ensures the parliamentary dimension of the 5+5 Dialogue, the “Western Mediterranean Group”. This is another high level forum we have access to, and which, following the incapacity of the Union for the Mediterranean to deliver, is gaining more and more importance. In fact, the countries of the West Mediterranean recently decided to re-activate this group, and Energy has been listed as a high priority on its agenda. The two examples above are evidence of what PAM can practically do to support your activities. I am also confident that our cooperation with the 5+5 will continue to grow further when, next March, Portugal will assume the Presidency of the Group.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank MEDREG for its contribution to the high level international conference on “Energy Challenges in the Euro Mediterranean Region”. The event, held on 14-15 September 2012, was hosted by the House of Councillors of Morocco and under the high patronage of His Majesty Mohamed VI, king of Morocco.
The Ouarzazate conference gathered more than 300 participants, including parliamentarians from PAM member states, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, financial institutions and major stakeholders in the Mediterranean energy sector. The substantial contribution of MEDREG to the event was much appreciated. Two representatives of MEDREG took part at the round tables with very interesting presentations of MEDREG’s objectives and of case studies like the one aiming at developing a new system to encourage renewable energy Southern Mediterranean countries.
All the participants underlined the necessity to have a harmonized regulatory framework concerning the certification of renewable energy sources, as well as the agreement between states on the distribution of renewable energy, systems research, power transport, direct investments in infrastructure, intercommunications, country of transit integration of energy networks, trans-border exchanges and transit mechanisms.
The main recommendations which emerged from Ouarzazate include:
a) Setting up the necessary legislative and regulatory frameworks, including fiscal measures, to promote investments in the renewable energy sector. PAM invited all member parliaments to work together in order to harmonize national legislations.
b) The creation of a favourable environment among the PAM countries, conducive to the realization of the Mediterranean Solar Plan.
c) The establishment, under PAM coordination, of a “Mediterranean Community of Energy”, to ensure coordination among the key actors on renewable energy, the reinforcement of national and regional transmission grids, as well as the promotion of investments and clear legal frameworks.
In Morocco it was also decided to organize a meeting of a “core group” to prepare a road map and a series of activities to implement the Ouarzazate’s conclusions. MEDREG must play a key role in this process. The “core group” will meet in Rabat, Morocco, early next year, and we count on your support and active contribution.
I would also like to inform you that, following the Ouarzazate event, at the 5+5 Heads of State Summit, the President of the Republic of Tunisia specifically requested PAM’s assistance in evaluating a project related to solar energy in his country. We count on your input to assist Tunisia on this matter.
I would like to reiterate PAM’s commitment to the creation of a Mediterranean Energy Community, which should be promoted and reached through the enhancement of more and more efficient and competitive regional markets aimed at the protection of all consumers. Our Assembly is fully aware of the urgent need to elaborate effective methods to produce green energy; the Mediterranean region must play a key role in this process, due to its geographical position and its climate. Our region has, for example, a unique potential for the production of solar energy, and as you know, several projects are being developed in the southern shore of the Mediterranean. This represents our future, and we must continue in this direction.
The absence of an overall strategic regional framework is a source of concern for PAM. For this reason, our Assembly focuses its efforts with MEDREG and Med-TSO and the major financial institutions, the EBRD, the European Commission, the UN, IRENA, DESERTEC, Energy Charter, to streamline efforts and investments.
PAM recognizes the unique nature of MEDREG, based on the very specific role entrusted to the National Regulatory Authorities, which by definition are independent and autonomous. As already emphasized in previous General Assemblies, PAM considers that MEDREG, due to the legal nature of its members, must remain totally independent to fulfil its mandate. Like the Energy Community Regulatory Board (ECRB) for the Balkan region, MEDREG should also receive sufficient political support by the Governments of the Mediterranean region with the aim to become a permanent institution. This would guarantee the continuity of MEDREG role in regional energy regulation and hence its role for economic growth and social progress in the Mediterranean region
I wish to conclude thanking you, once again, for your kind invitation, and I am convinced that our collaboration will be further strengthened in the future, for the good of all the Mediterranean people.
I wish you a very successful meeting. Thank you for your attention