Migrants, clean energy, top priorities for EU Commission

The new set of policies and projects funded by the European Union (EU) Commission for TT will seek to address issues from gender-based violence, to clean energy and humanitarian aid to migrants, according to the ambassadors of various European countries as they rolled out plans for the new year, at the Sagicor Building, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, on Tuesday.

The plans come one month after a new EU Commission was elected in Brussels, Belgium under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen.

This new commission will remain active until 2024.

Aad Biesebroek ambassador and head of the EU delegation said while the overall objective of the commission in TT was to promote stability and development remained the same, more emphasis will be placed on promoting clean, renewable energy resources, citing their funding of the €4 mil­lion solar park project at the Piarco International Airport.

French ambassador Serge Lavroff said the commission already adopted more approaches to tackling climate change by ending funding for fossil-fuel related projects while promoting renewable energy initiatives.

"It has already been decided at a decision from the EU last November to stop the finance of any fossil fuel programmes while reach raising financing for climate change by 2025."

Recently appointed Dutch ambassador Raphael Varga van Kibed said he was particularly interested in the programmes for migrants and was not opposed to the idea of placing the children of Venezuelan migrants in denominational schools in Trinidad.

He said as part of the implementation of plans for migrants, he would be visiting Aruba, Curacao and other Dutch territories in the island for discussions on what was needed to better accomodate migrants.