President Barroso visits Algeria and signs a memorandum on energy
President Barroso pays his first official visit as President of the European Commission to Algeria on 6-7 July.
Today, the President met Prime Minister Sellal and several members of the government, plus the presidents of the two chambers of the Assembly. He is meeting representatives of civil society as well.
"The relationship between the EU and Algeria is strong and based on mutual respect and trust. And its future looks very promising. The potential to further deepen our relationship is enormous", the President said after meeting Prime Minister Sellal. The President announced that the EU and Algeria signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of energy. “Energy is a priority area of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. (…) Algeria is a key partner for the EU. Natural gas is a strategic issue for both parties: Algeria is a major supplier to Europe, while Europe is by far the largest customer of Algeria", he added.
This MoU establishes a framework for cooperation in several areas, namely oil and gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency, reform of the legal and regulatory framework, gradual integration of the energy markets, infrastructure development, technology transfer and local development.
Beyond energy cooperation, President Barroso and Prime Minister Sellal also discussed Algeria's social and economic reforms, the country's accession to WTO, mobility and visas plus regional security.