Security

Human and Energy Security in the Mediterranean: when East meets West

5 July 2022. From 18:15 To 20:00 | Conference | English | Sala d'Actes de l'IEMed

Smoke and flame rise after a military strike on a compound of Sievierodonetsk’s Azot Chemical Plant, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine June 18, 2022. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak

Analysing energy and security trends with sub-regional and isolated West or East Mediterranean lenses has tended to prevail in academic and policy circles alike over the last years. The European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Cyprus Centre of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) are pleased to team up and organise this Public Roundtable, to make the case for looking into energy and security in the Mediterranean in an integrated way.

In March 2021, a Western Mediterranean country, France, joined the East Mediterranean Gas Forum. Over the last months, Morocco and Israel have intensified their energy proximation, with prospects for Israeli companies to explore possible gas reserves off the coast of Morocco. These are only two illustrations of trans-Mediterranean cooperation dynamics. Ahead of the COP27 to be held in Cairo later this year, and the Mediterranean being a climate change hotspot, an integrated Mediterranean cooperation effort to mitigate the risks is a necessity. Similarly, the effects of the war in Ukraine and the energy-security ramifications call for reinforced cooperation in the Mediterranean.

At the same time, there is a risk that competition over production or exploitation of energy sources gives rise to new tensions, with possible impact across the Mediterranean. Similarly, the case of Morocco and Algeria shows how disputes between countries in the region may have consequences in terms of energy and security for the whole region.

This panel explores the various themes and their interconnectivity, attempting to connect thematic and geographical dots in the energy, security, migration, and climate fields, in the broader Mediterranean, East and West.

The Barcelona Summer School of the Mediterranean and the Middle East is a joint initiative of IBEI and Blanquerna University. The School includes interactive roundtables focused on the various policy challenges the two regions face.

This roundtable takes place at the IEMed conference room, Girona, 20 – Barcelona and it can also be followed on the IEMed Youtube Channel.

More information here.