HAMMAMET (TUNISIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Tunisia is among the leading countries in the southern Mediterranean attracting the interest of European investors in the energy sector, with nine expressions of interest relating to projects involving potential investments worth approximately €33 billion. This was announced by Erwan Martin, Head of Energy at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA), speaking via video conference at a webinar held as part of the 28th edition of the Réalités International Forum, taking place in Hammamet on November 5 and 6, 2026.
According to Martin, the nine expressions of interest relate exclusively to Tunisia and are part of a total of 38 proposals submitted under the European T-MED initiative, involving seven partner countries and companies based in eleven EU Member States. Tunisia ranks among the three countries with the highest number of proposals, after Morocco and Egypt. The European Commission official clarified that the €33 billion figure represents the potential value of the proposed projects and does not refer to funding already approved or investments formally committed. At regional level, he added, the total value of envisaged investments could reach €145 billion, while approximately three-quarters of the proposals are still at an early stage of development.
Martin also reported that, under a separate call for expressions of interest targeting private investors interested in the Tunisian market, five investors have been selected to explore potential opportunities in the country.
Launched by the European Commission on June 9, 2026, under the Pact for the Mediterranean, the T-MED initiative aims to promote renewable energy, renewable hydrogen, clean technologies and the modernisation of electricity infrastructure in the southern Mediterranean partner countries. Its regional targets for 2035 include mobilising up to €25 billion in investment, developing 15 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity and training approximately 100,000 people in skills related to clean technologies.
In his address, Martin stressed that European cooperation with Tunisia aims not only to support renewable energy production but also to strengthen energy security, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, improve the competitiveness of Tunisian businesses and encourage the creation of skilled jobs.
The planned instruments include an investment platform to identify and structure projects, coordination between financial institutions and private investors, and support for the regulatory reforms needed to facilitate investment, particularly in relation to licensing procedures, access to electricity grids and the predictability of power purchase agreements.
The 28th edition of the Réalités International Forum, dedicated to relations between Tunisia and the European Union and the challenges facing the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, brings together institutional and diplomatic representatives in Hammamet. Participants include the European Union Ambassador to Tunisia, Giuseppe Perrone; the Italian Ambassador, Alessandro Prunas; and the French Ambassador, Anne Gueguen.
Other prominent participants include Senén Florensa, President of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), and Anna Barone, Regional Representative of the European Investment Bank in Tunisia.
– Photo xt4/Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
