Energy sector: Euro-Mediterranean partnership

The Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy is proposing that a Euro-Mediterranean Training Institute be set up. The Institute, which would be based in an EU Member State, would promote technology transfer and in particular the design and operation of pilot projects with a view to encouraging sustainable development in the Mediterranean countries. In the draft resolution based on a Commission communication, Mr SCAPAGNINI, on behalf of the committee, calls for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and partnership in the energy sector to be strengthened. The text notes that, given the interdependence of the EU countries and their Mediterranean partners in terms of energy supply, environmental protection, infrastructure, and trading relations, the strategy of furthering cooperation in energy policy could help to promote stability in the Mediterranean area as a whole. The Commission is being called upon to launch demonstration pilot projects and propose that the agency be set up to act as a 'catalyst' in the fields of information, training, and support for institutions and SMEs alike. �