Olaf Scholz again defends the idea of a gas pipeline between Spain and France
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, reiterated on Tuesday his support for a gas pipeline through the Pyrenees, in order to “to improve the interconnections of the gas network” against the backdrop of the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I want to emphasize again that I very much support such a connection”he said, during a press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, in Meseberg, north of Berlin.
This pipeline, viewed with suspicion by Paris, would be able “to improve the interconnections of the European gas network today and in the long term, it is also a question of using hydrogen together” green in Europe, detailed the head of the German executive. The gas pipeline project is called the Midcat – short for Midi (southern France) and Catalonia (northeastern Spain), the two regions it would connect – and would allow Spain, but also the Portugal, to transport gas, coming in the form of LNG from the United States or Qatar, to Central Europe via France.
Mr. Scholz had already affirmed, on August 11, that this gas pipeline ” we [manquait], alas, today dramatically »because it “would contribute massively to relieve and relax the supply situation, while Russia has already drastically reduced its gas supplies, on which Germany is very dependent.
Launched in 2013, the project was abandoned in 2019 by Paris and Madrid, due to its environmental impact and low economic interest. But the war in Ukraine and Russian threats to stop gas supplies to the EU have put the subject back on the table.
“I am very grateful that the German Chancellor shares the vision of a need to strengthen these interconnections”said in Berlin Mr. Sanchez, who was invited to the government seminar, which is relatively rare. “Currently, the energy interconnections of the Iberian Peninsula with the European energy market are less than 3%, so they are very far from the commitments that we have all made before the European Commission” with Portugal and France, he pointed out.
The problem for Madrid is that the lack of interest from Paris persists. Faced with this situation, Mr. Sanchez has already said he is ready to replace France with Italy. via an underwater gas pipeline.