Scottish Government signs agreement with Brittany on green energy

A cooperation agreement with the French region of Brittany aims to strengthen Scotland’s position as a leader in Europe’s offshore renewables industry.

The Scottish Government has signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Brittany, the first of its kind for Scotland with a region in France.

The MOU will provide Scottish companies with opportunities to capitalise and share best practices on the expansion of offshore wind projects off the coast of Brittany.

A delegation of fifteen Scottish companies – supported by Scottish Development International - recently met representatives from Brittany’s offshore wind sector to discuss future collaboration.

The MOU will also instigate a programme of actions that will cover institutional relations, culture and heritage, education and research, fisheries and diaspora.

Separately, the Scottish Government signed the Rennes Declaration, which will build on existing cultural, historical and linguistic bonds with Brittany, Ireland, Wales and the Spanish Region of Galicia. The Forum will also be an opportunity to discuss collaboration with other partners such as Cornwall and the Spanish Region of Asturias.

In Rennes, attending the first ever Celtic Forum, Deputy First Minister Shona Robison said:

“Scotland is working with our partners in Europe and this MOU and Declaration will help us collaborate across a range of topics.

“The people of Scotland resoundingly rejected Brexit, yet it has caused significant adverse impacts to our economy and trade relations. In spite of this, the Scottish Government remains firmly committed to developing partnerships with our European neighbours.

“We are keen to maximise opportunities for Scottish companies to learn from our Celtic partners as we look towards a future with cleaner, greener energy. 

“Scotland’s rich renewables endowment means we can not only generate enough cheap green electricity to power Scotland’s economy, but can also export electricity to our neighbours, supporting jobs here in Scotland and the decarbonisation ambitions of our partners.”

Michael Hook, Business Development Director of Swift Anchors, based in Edinburgh said:

“We are keen to capitalise on the opportunities that we expect to see from the deployment of floating offshore wind in Brittany waters, so we applaud the steps being taken by the Scottish Government and Brittany’s regional government to establish closer economic and cultural ties.  

“With the help of Scottish Development International, we have established good links within Brittany following a series of joint initiatives including Swift Anchors' attendance at the Bretagne Ocean Power event in Rennes earlier this year, where the quality of engagement and depth of interest in our anchoring solutions and potential collaboration were evident. Today’s agreement between the two governments gives us further encouragement to our business efforts in Brittany.” 

Background

Memorandum of Understanding

between

The Regional Council of Brittany

and

The Scottish Government

The Region of Brittany and The Scottish Government (hereinafter referred to as "the Participants") express their mutual desire through this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise their common intention to pursue institutional co-operation.

Introduction

Strengthened by their common cultural heritage, historical links and close existing bilateral friendships and relations, the Region of Brittany and the Scottish Government express their desire to develop and consolidate institutional relations between Brittany and Scotland, with a view to reciprocal and sustainable development for the benefit of our respective citizens.

This co-operation is intended to be operational and concrete and to be based on a programme of actions that will cover the following topics: institutional relations, culture and heritage, renewable energies, education and research, fisheries and diaspora.

The Participants hereby decide as follows:

Insofar as their respective competences allow, the Participants will seek to co-operate with each other to achieve the following objectives:

• Maintain and deepen institutional relations between Brittany and Scotland and pursue joint thinking on the contribution of the Celtic nations to the future of Europe.

• Support institutional and professional collaboration in the field of education and training, in particular by encouraging student mobility between Brittany and Scotland, co-operation between institutions, research collaboration and the common pursuit of talent and skills.

• Work on the enhancement, promotion, mutual knowledge of, and sharing of best practice between, the Breton and Scottish heritage and natural heritage sectors, in particular through the implementation of common projects between actors from Brittany and Scotland.

• Strengthen and expand the already close cultural relations between Brittany and Scotland, with a particular focus on Celtic languages, traditional and contemporary music, literature and the performing arts.

• Reinforce relations between Breton and Scottish diaspora communities, through institutional co-operation and support to joint diaspora projects.

• Reinforce exchanges, the promotion of common interests and the support of activities related to renewable energies, particularly in the development of marine renewable energies, offshore wind and hydrogen.

• Support engagement to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, through bilateral engagement and increased and active engagement (for example the Under2 Coalition).

• Support institutional and professional knowledge exchange in the area of maritime issues, particularly around fisheries, seafood trade and the decarbonisation of ports.

• Strengthen economic relations between Brittany and Scotland by promoting a better understanding of the respective economic environments and the implementation of projects and meetings for respective economic stakeholders.

Both Participants will strive to involve interested stakeholders from both countries in the implementation of their projects.

In order to ensure the implementation of this co-operation arrangement, an action plan will be defined for a period of 48 months (i.e. a mid-term review of the co-operation arrangement).

The Participants accept that ministerial representatives of the Regional Council of Brittany and the Scottish Government, will meet regularly, and at least once a year, to assess the progress of the projects set out in the action plan, to renew or amend it and to address issues of common interest.

This MoU may be amended and supplemented at any time with the agreement of both Participants. It is accepted that the arrangement will be reviewed after a period of five years from the date of execution.

This MoU will not create any legal obligations or commitments between the Participants.

This MoU was signed in French and English, both texts being equivalent.

Rennes, 03 August 2023

For The Regional Council of Brittany                               For The Scottish Government

Loïg Chesnais-Girard                                                          Shona Robison

President of the Regional Council                                    Deputy First Minister, Scottish Government

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