Magharebia

The EU is ready to sign an energy partnership agreement with Algeria, European Agency for Competition and Innovation Director Patrick Lambert said on Monday (June 18th). "We are ready to undertake discussions with Algeria," he told the participants at an international conference on renewable energy underway in Algiers. According to El Khabar, the event aims at resolving the stalemate between Algeria and the EU amidst concerns in some European countries that after signing a gas convention with Russia, there will be a drop in Algerian supplies of gas to Europe. Lambert said co-operation could be developed on at least three axes, including the integration of Algerian and European energy policy, the development of energy sector infrastructure and the exchange of experience and technology. Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Chakib Khalil underlined that Algeria plans to become an important renewable energies producer, in particular of solar energy, and that his government will sign accords on developing such energies with several of the countries participating in the event.