• The Vice Presidency of the Basque Government in FEDARENE has reinforced the commitment to industrial competitiveness as an essential condition of an effective European energy transition
  • The Basque Country has presented the details of the ‘EVE Map’ to the European body, with the aim of advancing energy autonomy and strengthening security of supply, industrial competitiveness and social welfare
  • Participation in FEDARENE facilitates the possibility for the Basque Country to anticipate European regulatory trends, opens new opportunities for visibility, cooperation and participation in joint programmes and projects

On the occasion of the General Assembly of FEDARENE that is held these days in Modena, the Basque Government, through the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), has highlighted the balance of the participation of the Basque Country in the main European network of energy and environment agencies and regions.

In the last year, the institutional presence of the Basque Country has been reflected with the presence of the Director General of EVE, Mikel Amundarain Leibar, on the board of directors of FEDARENE, from where he has addressed one of the key debates of the European Union: advancing in decarbonization without weakening the industrial base of the territories.

For the Basque Country, the positioning in FEDARENE brings a clear added value: greater ability to anticipate regulatory trends, identify opportunities for cooperation, strengthen international visibility and connect with regions and actors that promote European projects.

FEDARENE acts as a European reference platform to translate the vision and experience of the regions into Community policies. The network brings together more than 90 members in 24 EU countries, connecting regional agencies and authorities that work daily in the practical implementation of energy and climate policies. In this context, the Vice-Presidency carried out by the EVE has made it possible to strengthen the presence of the Basque Country in the strategic orientation of the network and in its dialogue with European bodies.

‘EVE map’: greater energy autonomy as a strategic objective

The Basque Energy Agency has helped to transfer to the European debate the experience of a territory with a strong industrial base and a transition model that seeks to unite competitiveness, innovation and sustainability. The EVE has supported FEDARENE in the preparation of contributions to European processes related to the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), incorporating a territorial and industrial perspective.

In this sense, the EVE has defended the need to strengthen the electrical networks, in order to connect new generation, electrify processes and avoid bottlenecks, with a more flexible regulation that makes the system more efficient. At the same time, he stressed the importance of improving the electricity bill, key to strengthening the competitiveness of the industry against other players and promoting electrification.

Within the framework of the network, the collection and dissemination of good practices from other European industrial regions has been promoted, using FEDARENE as a space to share real models and applicable learning, including the experience of the Basque Country.

In this context, the Basque Country has presented to the Federation the details of the so-called ‘EVE Map’, which expects to co‑invest 80 million euros together with industrial partners until 2030, to promote projects that will increase generation power by 450 MW. In the deployment, priority action areas have been identified until 2030, with a model that prioritizes locations with resources, environmental and urban feasibility, proximity to the network and commercial viability.

In parallel, work lines have been activated that seek to consolidate a stable agenda between industrial territories. Among them, the launch of the group “Promoters of Competitiveness” has been proposed to coordinate positions and priorities between regions with a relevant industrial base, as well as the preparation of a European workshop with the participation of EU institutions on industrial competitiveness in the energy transition.

About FEDARENE.FEDARENE is the European network of regional energy agencies, created in 1990 by six pioneer territories, including the Basque Country, to strengthen cooperation and the regional voice in European energy and environmental policy.