Difficult times have always brought about brave successful decisions.
The current crisis in the EU and in particular Greece represents a window of opportunity to reconsider all options and reshape our old structures.
It seems clearer every day that renewable energy sources are part of the solution to ensure economic growth and job creation.
This will be discussed by the Members of Parliaments at the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency on 23 and 24 November in the Hellenic Parliament in Athens.
EUFORES (European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources) organizes its Inter-Parliamentary Meeting for Members of Parliaments from all Member States of the European Union every year in a different parliament. The discussion focuses on renewable energy and energy efficiency. This year, this high-level conference takes place in the Parliament of Greece. “The choice of Greece as our conference location was not a coincidence but a clear intention. The current crisis is a window of opportunity for Greece and the European Union to reconsider the set-up of our energy system and to reorganize our energy priorities. In the light of the numerous advantages of renewable energy and energy efficiency, the future European energy system should be built upon them,” said Claude Turmes (MEP Luxembourg, Greens/EFA), EUFORES President.
Parliamentarians from all over Europe will attend this conference with the objective to discuss several key issues and to exchange their experience from their home countries. Just to mention a few, the topics raised will include the role of renewables projects to save the Greek economy, financing and access to capital for Greece and the broader Mediterranean area, how to keep the national markets on track to reach the 2020 goals and how well energy efficiency policies are implemented in the EU.
EUFORES Vice-President Anni Podimata (MEP Greece, S&D) commented on one of the most crucial matters that will be dealt with at the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting – access to capital: “The lack of liquidity and funding of the real economy undermines the development of renewable energy sources and the achievement of 2020 targets in countries faced with economic difficulties such as Greece. We should not allow the crisis to create a two-speed Europe in terms of investments in renewable energy sources. We intend to discuss this problem in depth in Athens and explore all the options and different financing tools to fund renewable energy projects.”
“Renewable energy and energy efficiency can play a major role in economy growth and job creation and we want to show that they are part of the answer to our current challenges. This conference is a platform for national parliamentarians to turn discussion into policy that would create a stable political framework for renewable energy. Otherwise, there will be no investor confidence,” added Noel Coonan (Member of the Irish Parliament).
Background information
EUFORES – European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources
EUFORES is a European parliamentary network with members from all major political groups in the European Parliament as well as in the national parliaments of the EU. EUFORES’ core objective is the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Europe.
EUFORES is an independent, cross-party and non-profit organisation founded 1995 by Members of Parliament and other key actors and is today a leading promoter of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
EUFORES largest annual event is the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting, which takes place in a different parliament of the EU Member State every year.
