EU AS A KEY PARTNER TO SUPPORT RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ECOWAS

EU has provided and earmarked more than 1.1 billion EUR in the energy sector for the ECOWAS region and have been working as a close partner to ECREEE on several joint projects, studies and initiatives.

The energy sector has been a priority in the portfolio of the EU’s poverty alleviation and eradication strategies for many years. The discussions on the post-2015 development agenda have identified a close relationship between energy and development and the objectives to be set in the framework of the new sustainable development goals. The EU has taken up this challenge in a systematic and coherent manner. In cooperation with all its international partners, the EU has developed a multi-level approach to face the challenges linked to energy poverty.

The EU has signed a number of joint declarations with European and African countries that have decided to work together in the energy field. These declarations reinforce the political ties between partner countries’ political commitments in the energy field and the supporting actions financed by the EU and relevant donors with targeted partner countries.

Better public services, such as better education facilities, a functioning health system and a productive agricultural sector, are all essential in the fight against poverty and depend on reliable access to energy. In order to foster the development of the energy sector in Africa, the EU encourages comprehensive sector reforms, conducive policies as well as regulatory frameworks which are crucial and go hand in hand with the creation of an enabling environment for private investments. Against this background, the European Union launched the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), which has been supporting many ECOWAS member states in fine tuning their energy policies and regulatory frameworks to allow for increased investments in the energy sector.

Several missions have already been undertaken by the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) towards ECOWAS countries such as Côte d´Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, etc.

The Facility has been working to fulfil its main objectives, namely to:

• Increase the partner countries’ administrative and technical capacity for sector policy analysis, its development and implementation;
• Accelerate and implement positively, efficiently and effectively sector reform policies on access to sustainable energy, energy efficiency and energy supplies, and
• Facilitate the implementation of the investment projects needed to meet the overall SE4All objective of making modern energy services accessible to all.

As a major donor and partner in the ECOWAS region the EU, since 2007, has provided and earmarked more than 1.1 billion EUR in the energy sector for the ECOWAS region and have been working as a close partner to ECREEE on several joint projects, studies and initiatives.

More details regarding the partnership between the European Union, ECOWAS and ECREEE can be found on the brochure available bellow.