This event continues our series EU Strategic Toolbox Talks focusing on existing and upcoming EU instruments aimed at managing critical dependencies and strengthening the EU’s sovereignty. These instruments form an important basis for fostering the EU’s capability to act in a global environment increasingly shaped by geopolitical tensions and systemic rivalries.
A central project of the EU in making Europe CO2-neutral by 2050 and reducing critical energy dependencies is the European Green Deal. Main fields of action for its implementation are energy supply, transport, trade, industry, financial market regulation and agriculture. In order to achieve climate neutrality and energy security more quickly, the EU is looking for partners. In increasing the supply of green energy sources, the partnership with the EU’s southern neighbourhood plays an important role.
Since October 2022 Morocco is the first country with whom the EU has concluded a Green Partnership Agreement under the external dimension of the European Green Deal. Brussels and Rabat defined as areas of cooperation: climate and energy; environment, including marine issues; agriculture; and green economy. Other Southern Mediterranean Partner Countries, such as Tunisia, offer similar green cooperation potential.
In this online event, we plan to address the following questions and topics:
- How does the implementation of the EU-Morocco Green Partnership Agreement work in practice? Is there potential for a real paradigm shift in moving towards a shared green economy?
- How large is the need for investment? How can the European and Moroccan private sector be integrated in a target-oriented way and encouraged to invest?
- How can the EU-Morocco Green Partnership Agreement be integrated into the dimensions of already existing relations: the bilateral association agreement and the privileged partnership?
- Other Southern Mediterranean Partner Countries can offer similar green cooperation potential. What potential does Tunisia offer? What can the EU contribute?
- To what extent do green partnerships reduce the EU’s strategic dependencies?
Our speakers:
- Henrike Trautmann, Director for Neighbourhood South and Türkiye; Directorate-General Neighbourhood & Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Brussels
- Andreas Wenzel, Chief Executive Officer, German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Morocco, Casablanca
- Ali Kanzari, Senior Expert in Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency, Tunis
Moderation / Setting the scene:
- Christian Hanelt, Senior Expert Europe, Neighbourhood and the Middle East, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Berlin
