6th Joint Experts Group Meeting of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP)
From 17-18 March 2011 the 6th Joint Experts Group Meeting (JEG) of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) took place in Mauritius.
To achieve the targets on renewable energy, JEG participants endorsed the start-up phase (2011-13) of the AEEP Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP) in Mauritius.
It is implemented by the EUEI Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF) and the Agence Française de Développement. Considering the vast potential for renewable energy in Africa, the JEG has also endorsed a guiding vision for the development of a larger RECP up to 2020.
Support to the AEEP
The Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) is a long-term framework for structured political dialogue and co-operation between Africa and the EU on energy issues of strategic importance, reflecting African and European needs.
Through the Partnership, Africa and Europe work together to develop a shared vision and common policy answers, and to stimulate specific actions that address the energy challenges of the 21st century.
The overall objective of the AEEP is improved access to reliable, secure, affordable, cost-effective, climate friendly and sustainable energy services for both continents, with a special focus on achieving the MDGs in Africa.
In order to achieve its overall objective, the AEEP will focus its efforts on concrete, realistic, visible targets to be attained by 2020, as agreed by the First High Level Meeting of the AEEP held in Vienna on 14–15 September 2010.
Specific initiatives will focus on five priority areas:
- Energy Access;
- Energy Security;
- Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency;
- Institutional Capacity Building; and
- Scaling-up investment.
AEEP initiatives contribute to existing national, regional and continental energy objectives and strategies in Africa, and will take into account the necessary social and environmental standards.
Governance Structure African and European leaders meet at EU-Africa Summits to set the agenda for joint relations.
The summit held in Lisbon in December 2007 adopted the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) comprising of eight strategic partnerships of which the AEEP is one. Joint Expert Groups (JEG) have been set up to implement the eight strategic partnerships. The groups include representatives from African and EU member countries as well as civil society organisations and they form African and EU Implementing Teams (IT). These select Co-Chairs to coordinate among team members. The AEEP’s Co-Chairs are Austria and Germany for the European IT, and, the African Union Commission and Mauritius on the African side.
The JEG and the IT Co-Chairs are supported by the EU Energy Initiative – Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF) which prepares and documents their meetings as well as the AEEP High Level Meetings and a Partnership Forum with civil society organisations. So far the JEG members with strong guidance from the IT Co-Chairs and support from the EUEI PDF, have prepared and approved:
- the Partnership Road Map;
- Recommendations from the AEEP to the Joint Africa-EU Strategy;
- the Declaration of the High Level Meeting containing
- Political Targets for 2020;
- the AEEP Action Plan 2011–2013; and
- the outline for the Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme.
Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP)
As an integral part of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP), the RECP seeks to accelerate the use of renewable energy in Africa in order to increase access to modern energy services in Africa by making the continent a prime destination for renewable energy investments. Moreover, these efforts and initiatives contribute to the ambitious AEEP 2020 Political Targets which seek in particular to bring access to modern and sustainable energy services to at least an additional 100 million people on the African continent.
With initial funding from the European Commission for the programme’s Start-up Phase, the RECP seeks to prepare the ground for renewable energy investments by improving the policy framework in African regions and countries and building capacity in the African banking sector.
The RECP has now commenced its first activities in providing support on regional level for the elaboration of renewable energy policy guidelines to the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), based in Cape Verde. With a view to later piloting on a national level, the support to ECREEE envisages contributing to the facilitation of renewable energy investments and applications on regional and national level in the West African region.
At the same time, the main programme of the RECP as proposed by the AEEP structures is being established for the period up to 2020. The programme may incoporate a scaling-up of policy advisory services and a component on private sector cooperation between African and European businesses in the spirit of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership. It will also include a component on project preparation, investment and support to research and higher education on renewable energy in Africa.
For more information on the RECP and the AEEP, please consult the Joint Website of the AU and the EU Commissions.
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The Africa-EU Energy Partnership Factfile - English