Germany and Denmark agree closer cooperation on energy

Germany and Denmark agreed to cooperate more closely on their energy policies on Friday, against the backdrop of a looming energy crisis across Europe, reported dpa.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod signed up to proposals that include deeper cooperation in water and wind energy and with regard to carbon dioxide storage.

Baerbock called it an "ambitious programme" that was "an investment in future generations."

She also called on Germany to look to Denmark, which gets 70% of its net electricity through renewable energies, as a role model. One area Germany could expand on, according to Baerbock, is offshore wind energy in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had agreed with his colleagues from Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands to increase the amount of offshore energy generated by the four countries fourfold by 2030, and tenfold by 2050, at a summit in May in the Danish town of Esbjerg.

At another summit next Tuesday on the island of Bornholm, representatives of the Baltic Sea nations will also discuss closer energy cooperation.

Green electricity and hydrogen should become "central anchors for a climate-neutral and sovereign Europe," Baerbock said on Friday.

Other areas in which Germany and Denmark will also seek closer cooperation include security and defence, digitalisation, and health.