EU Strategic Toolbox Talk: Green partnership agreements with the EU’s neighbouring countries Potential instruments for strengthening the European Green Deal?

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bertelsmann stiftung

In February 2023, the member organsation Bertelsmann Stiftung organized an event that continued the series EU Strategic Toolbox Talks and focused 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. 

Please find the article "Green Partnership Agreements – How They Advance the EU Green Deal and Strengthen EU Relations with its Southern Neighborhood" by Anneke Grosskreutz and Christian Hanelt here

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