Brussels, 15 April (STA) - Environment, Climate and Energy Minister Bojan Kumer was among 23 EU ministers responsible for energy and representatives of around 100 companies from the European solar energy sector to sign the EU Solar Energy Charter at an informal meeting in Brussels on Monday. The signatories committed to supporting the production of solar energy capacities.
In signing the charter, EU governments have acknowledged the critical role of companies in the solar electricity sector in strategic supply chains, Solarpower Europe said.
The association representing the European solar photovoltaic sector called for concrete action at European and national level to support manufacturers in the sector.
The charter calls on companies and, in particular, on governments of EU member states to commit to maintaining and, where possible, expanding production capacity in Europe in line with the expected growing demand for photovoltaic products.
It also calls for the promotion of innovative uses of solar energy, such as agri-photovoltaics and vehicle/building-integrated photovoltaics.
In addition to Slovenia, the charter was also signed by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the Netherlands.
