Foment del Treball celebrates the inclusion of Bar-Mar in the list of Projects of Special European Interest

2023-11-29 19:30:37

The European Commission has announced the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) that includes the H2med corridor, the first axes of the associated Spanish Hydrogen Backbone Network and two underground hydrogen storage facilities; and, therefore, the Bar-Mar gas pipeline. Its inclusion in the PCI list, which will be presented to the Council and the European Parliament for approval at the beginning of 2024, represents an important step forward in promoting these projects. Foment del Treball defended from day one the need to achieve this gas pipeline to turn Catalonia into the main green hydrogen hub in southern Europe. The president of the Catalan employers’ association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, who heads a delegation of the employers’ association in Brussels these days, has expressed his satisfaction with this news.

Foment del Treball insists on the need to use BarMar as quickly as possible and to have natural gas as a temporary option. “There is a lot of talk about electrification, but little about the thermal energy needs of the industry, a good part of which cannot be electrified,” explains Sánchez Llibre. It must be taken into account that the State is the third country in Europe in terms of biogas potential, coming from the use of slurry and biomass, but it is left behind in terms of production facilities. “We were betting on MidCat – Sánchez Llibre indicated – to use natural gas as a transition element.”

With the change in circumstances, the employers give “100% support” to the connection with Marseille, despite the fact that it will be more expensive and will be delayed, without forgetting an alternative that they have also defended and that for the moment has been ruled out by the Minister Ribera: another underwater gas pipeline that would link Barcelona and Livorno, in Italian Tuscany.

Sánchez Llibre already met in March 2022 with the European Commission to defend the geopolitical importance of strengthening energy interconnections between Spain and France, and to urge the reactivation “with the utmost urgency” and with European funds for the construction of the interconnection project of MidCat gas that would contribute to reducing the energy dependence of the European Union on Russia.

Meeting with Roberta Metsola

The president of Foment del Treball also met with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to assess the European economic situation. The employer leader expressed the business world’s concern about the excess regulation that arises from European directives and legislation, and how this situation can pose a problem for competitiveness. Metsola responded to the requests of the Catalan employers’ association and the meeting took place with complete cordiality.

The Foment del Treball delegation has also met with different representatives of the cabinets of different European commissioners. In these meetings it has been possible to establish Foment’s position and the needs of the Catalan business community on key issues that are followed daily by the employers’ association. Thus, the meetings with representatives of the Transport Commissioner, Adina Vălean, and the Economy Commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, have discussed the need to expand the Prat airport and the conclusions that Foment presented a few weeks ago have been sent. The environmental proposal that appears at the heart of Foment’s proposals has been one of the most valued elements.

In addition, the reform of the electricity market, which is closing these weeks, at the end of the Spanish presidency, has also been discussed with several speakers. Foment values ​​this resolution positively. The aim of the reform is to make electricity prices less dependent on the volatility of fossil fuel prices, protect consumers from sharp price increases, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and improve the protection of consumers. Long-term stability in energy markets will be achieved by boosting the market for energy purchase and sale contracts through the generalization of two-way contracts for difference and improving the liquidity of the futures market.