France has contradicted the version of the Spanish Government that both countries had promised to conclude the cross-border connection by high-speed train by 2030, ensuring that this promise was made only unilaterally by the Executive of Pedro Sánchez.
In an interview with Europa Press, the French ambassador in Spain, Jean-Michel Casa, assures that at no time was that date agreed upon at the last Franco-Spanish summit held last January in Barcelona, and in fact it does not appear in the official joint declaration of the summit.
However, the Spanish Ministry of Transport released a statement at the end of a meeting with the French counterpart department, within the framework of that summit, in which it celebrated France’s commitment to complete both the Atlantic and Mediterranean corridors for that year.
“Clearly, 2030, in relation to the Atlantic corridor, has never been talked about on our side. At the Barcelona summit there was talk of a 2030 horizon, but only for the Mediterranean corridor, but never, in any case, for the Atlantic corridor. That appeared in a statement published by the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, but it is a unilateral statement,” the ambassador defended.
In another summit, in this case between Spain and Portugal, last March, these two countries joined forces to send a joint letter to Brussels to pressure France to promote the Atlantic corridor.
«Pressure Brussels, right? Well, let them press. If they can get the European Commission to finance everything, fine, of course. It also depends on European funds. It is a paradox that Spain and Portugal, who have never been able to make a high-speed train between Madrid and Lisbon, explain to us that we have to put pressure on France”, he said in this regard.
From Europe they have already contacted the Gauls to regret that there is still no closed commitment regarding their connection with Spain. In fact, the European documents do establish a 2030 horizon for this corridor.
around 2042
With all this, the only date that Jean-Michel Casa cites for the completion of the corridor is around 2042, according to a document published by the Infrastructure Guidance Council, a French advisory body, which, in any case, still has to be debated and approved by the French government.
One of the regions most affected by this delay is the Basque Country, whose political formations have already requested explanations from the Spanish Government, which for its part has confirmed the completion of high-speed rail in the Basque Country by 2030.