Regional cooperation is essential if the goals of the European Energy Union are to be met, according to the organisers of a High-Level Meeting on energy, held as part of the Netherlands EU Presidency in February.

The High Level Meeting, which took place in Amsterdam, focused on regional cooperation in the North Sea, specifically the cost benefits of cooperation on offshore wind energy and the importance of coordinating infrastructure, market regulation and spatial planning in the context of the EU’s transition to a more sustainable energy supply.

Ahead of the meeting, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and Friends of the Supergrid (FOSG) issued a statement in which they identified regional cooperation as a key tool to speed up Europe’s transition to a more sustainable energy supply and to promote economic development. “Under the Netherlands EU Council Presidency, Member States and European institutions have the unique opportunity to set up a framework for regional cooperation taking into account the immense energy potential of the North Seas,” the statement said.

To facilitate this, FOSG and EWEA called for the creation of a High Level Group, bringing together energy ministers and representatives from the EU institutions to create a vision and a roadmap for development, coordination and collaboration in energy infrastructure in the North Seas, along with the corresponding finance mechanisms to expedite the interconnection between countries and between offshore wind farms and the mainland.

Furthermore, the two organisations stressed that raising broad support for regional cooperation in the North Sea among industry, civil society and other relevant stakeholders was crucial to ensure public acceptance and technical know-how.
FOSG and EWEA also called for a North Sea Stakeholders’ Platform to be set up to tackle technical and regulatory barriers in support of a continuous pipeline of offshore wind and grid projects and the establishment of a European offshore wind technologies testing and verification centre.
 

For more information:
http://english.eu2016.nl/latest/events/2016/02/04/high-level-meeting-energy