N° 4 > The case for genuine energy cooperation in the Mediterranean
The Barcelona Process, 5+5, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Desertec, Medgrid and Apolo: all of these institutional frameworks and industrial projects have had a mandate to put in place cooperation in the Mediterranean, particularly in the domain of energy.
The Barcelona Process, for example, right from its launch in 1995, promised to regard energy as “the motor of economic development and cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region”. What is the state of play today, at a time when the wind of geopolitical, economic and social change is blowing in several South Mediterranean countries, with inevitable consequences on the development of the southern shore and future relations with North Mediterranean countries?
The author
Mustapha K. Faïd is president of SPTEC Conseil, a consultancy firm specializing in energy. He was formerly vice-president responsible for marketing and economic development at Sonatrach, the Algerian and Mediterranean oil industry leader, and managing director of the Mediterranean Energy Observatory (OME).
Contents
- INTRODUCTION: Energy cooperation so far lacks ambition
- An observation: marked imbalances
- Incongruous practices
- Intra-Maghreb cooperation is imperative
- Euro-Maghreb partnership must be based on different logic
- CONCLUSION: Make the right choices
