I am very glad to see you here in Brussels in the Berlaymont again. Just a month ago, we met on a gas rig in the middle of the Norwegian Sea – so that is a quite a change of landscape that we have today. We announced then, a month ago, that we were working on a Green Alliance. A Green Alliance is a very ambitious high-level climate and energy partnership. It is only the second of its kind after the one the European Union has with Japan, and it is the very first Green Alliance that we have with a European country.
Today I am very happy to say that we have concluded our Green Alliance. We are opening a new era of privileged cooperation. It is privileged cooperation on climate action; privileged cooperation on clean energy. We are working on industrial transformation, on environmental protection. So a lot of topics are under the umbrella of the Green Alliance. It will allow us to move along to the path to climate neutrality, side by side, to join forces. Of course, we are building on everything we are working on together already. For example, we will expand our joint work on carbon capture and storage. And we have work ongoing on clean hydrogen and electrolysers, we are doing this under the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance.
But I want to mention two points more specifically. The first one is renewables, in particular offshore wind. The two of us are on our way to Ostend, on the Belgian coast, where we will have the Summit of the North Sea countries for offshore wind today. This of course includes Norway. These countries have a shared ambition to work together and to boost offshore wind energy production. I want to thank you for that, Jonas, because of course the wind that is harnessed by the turbines in the North Sea will help power Europe's clean-tech industry. It will provide secure and affordable energy to Europeans.
My second point is critical raw materials – and we just had this point in the bilateral. The very materials we need to build the North Sea wind turbines, and much more, are these critical raw materials. They are a key strand of our Green Alliance to work together on a greater strategic autonomy in this area. Because we know how important these critical raw materials are for our green transformation. Of course, we did not wait for the Green Alliance to work on that. Last year, we announced that we were working on a strategic partnership focusing on critical raw materials and the batteries value chain. This work is ongoing, and we hope to finalise it soon.
My last point: This Green Alliance, dear Jonas, is also a symbol of the deep bond and friendship between Norway and the European Union. A friendship that is demonstrated by the exceptional partnership that we have formed during last year's energy crisis. The energy crisis that has been triggered by President Putin when he cut the supplies of pipeline gas to the European Union. And it was a time when you immediately stepped in and increased your deliveries to the European Union. That was crucial for us to literally prevent blackouts in the European Union. It is in times of need that you get to know your true friends. And Norway showed in an exemplary manner that we can rely on each other.
Today, Europe still needs reliable and affordable supplies of gas to prepare for the next winter and the next storage filling season. I am particularly happy that in the years to come, Norway will maintain its high level of gas supplies and will respond positively to the upcoming tenders. Today, we add a forward-looking, green chapter to our energy cooperation, as we are working together towards climate neutrality.
Many thanks for that.
