He avoids speaking out after Macron’s criticism and asks for more information about this initiative
The European Commission on Tuesday avoided supporting the MidCat gas pipeline project. The initiative, which defends Spain and which would unite the Iberian Peninsula with the rest of the European Union, was rejected on Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron, who does not see it as a solution to the current energy crisis.
“At the moment we cannot give a specific position. Firstly, it is imperative that Member States and promoters make progress towards the viability of the project,” said Energy spokesman for the European executive, Tim McPhie, at a press conference in Brussels, asking for more data to allow evaluating this initiative The Midcat was a candidate to become a project of common European interest, but Spain and France decided to paralyze this process, as they felt they should go further in its development.
Now the gas pipeline is “not considered a priority” for the EU, McPhie said. The infrastructure would in principle serve to transport fossil fuels (gas), so it is no longer eligible for European funds unless it can also be adapted to move hydrogen. “Any cross-border project needs the approval of the countries involved in the project,” concluded the European spokesperson.
Spanish President Pedro Sánchez and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a letter to French authorities last week asking them to consider the project before Russia threatens gas cuts. However, Macron assured Monday that there are already two gas pipelines linking Spain to France and that they have been operating at 55% of capacity since the start of the energy crisis. Nor does he believe that the development of the Midcat will double or triple Spain’s gas imports from the south.
Source: La Verdad
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