EU wants to have stronger energy relations with Algeria
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Roshan Amiri
- . March 15, 2023
- . Update: March 15, 2023 4:24 pm
The European Union’s foreign policy leader Josep Borrell on Monday during a visit to Algeria called for increased energy cooperation with Africa’s top gas exporter as well as enhanced security relations.
Approximately “90 percent of Algerian gas exports go to Europe, and we know we can count on Algeria, which is a solid partner and has been through difficult times,” Borrell said following a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
The 27-nation bloc wants to strengthen its relationship with Algeria “looking to the future, by prioritising European investments in the renewable energy sector,” Borrell said in a statement.
Italy is leading the pack of European nations that have turned to Algeria as a substitute for Russian gas after last year’s invasion of Ukraine caused prices to skyrocket.
Noting the “economic and human consequences on the entire world,” Borrell urged Algeria to “join efforts… to stop this senseless war.”
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Algeria has maintained cordial relations with both its European neighbours and Moscow.
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President Tebboune decided in February to restore the Algerian Embassy in Kyiv, which had been closed since the invasion’s start last year. Tebboune is scheduled to travel to Russia in May.
In addition, Borrell stated that Algeria and the EU had agreed to “relaunch high-level security conversation,” with the first talks scheduled for the year’s end.
This demonstrates that Algeria is an important ally in the struggle against terrorism in our common neighbourhood.
Borrell praised Algeria’s “strong history of battling against terrorism” and urged a “global and strategic vision” to combat challenges, especially in the Sahel region.
Once Madrid changed its long-standing policy of neutrality regarding the Western Sahara, the North African nation cancelled a cooperative agreement with that country.
