The European Commission urges Spain to strengthen its interconnections to compensate for its dependence on Russian gas
The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, has urged Spain to improve its level of energy connection with the rest of the continent to compensate for the European Union’s dependence on gas from Russia. As Simson pointed out in her appearance this Tuesday before the Joint Commission for the European Union, 90% of the gas that Europe consumes is imported and 40% comes from a single supplier, Russia. Simson has underlined that Spain “plays an important role” in this matter, having 42% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage capacity, with six operating terminals: the use of these terminals would “compensate” the reduction in supply Russian, but the lack of interconnections between Spain and neighboring countries prevents this path. For this reason, he has called on Spain to improve this level of interconnections, pointing out that the project in the Bay of Biscay —which has financing of almost 600 million euros in community funds— “is not enough”, urging attention to the other two projects to connect the Iberian Peninsula and France through the Pyrenees.
Simson has insisted that these projects, “according to the Commission’s plans, should be operational between 2029 and 2030.” However, the Government, and particularly its Vice President for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, responsible for the country’s energy policy, has expressed since she took office her misgivings about the gas interconnection projects through the Pyrenees . The last time, this same Monday at a press conference with Simson herself, pointing out that this Midcat gas pipeline, rejected by the Spanish and French regulators, would not solve the supply problems in the immediate term, betting on thinking about its viability during its useful life and inviting other technologies, such as green hydrogen, to rethink these facilities.
Faced with a deterioration in relations between Russia and the EU as a result of geopolitical tensions with this country and Ukraine, the commissioner stressed that she has strengthened relations with the United States, Azerbaijan, Egypt and even South Korea, achieving a commitment to divert liquefied natural gas (LNG) if necessary. (Eph)
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