Germany has returned to the table its concern about the dependence of Europe with respect to the natural gas that Russia provides, so it proposed to that community of nations the construction of a gas pipeline that has Spain and Portugal as its main distribution axes.
The initiative was raised by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who explained that the European Union (EU) could contribute to the construction of a double gas pipeline, in order to transport the fuel from Portugal to the north of the continent and from Spain and France to the central region.
Scholz, who said that he has talked about it with Portugal, Spain and France, and that he will present the project to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is one of those most interested in such a possibility. He has already repeatedly described as a «mistake» that Germany depends so much on the energy supplied by Moscow, especially since in the midst of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Berlin has perceived that there is a «dramatic» absence of connections for the distribution of gas, and specifically with the Iberian Peninsula, gateway to this resource.
The German ruler considers that if these connections existed, the dependence on Russian gas would be alleviated and the risk of energy shortages for Europe would be reduced. Meanwhile, since the end of July, a fuel saving plan has been activated on the continent, which for the moment indicates a voluntary reduction in consumption by the member countries of the EU, but which may become mandatory in the event of a worsening of the crisis
Although Scholz did not refer to the Midcat project, conceived for Spain through France to distribute gas to Europe, everything indicates that this alternative would be the best option that Europeans would have to try to reduce energy dependence on Russia. It is a particularly important issue for Germany, which in 2021 consumed 46 million cubic meters of Russian gas.
However, the project has been paralyzed for years, because for Europeans it is cheaper to receive the Russian input than to build the 226 kilometers of pipes that are pending between Hostalric, in Catalonia, and Barbaira, in France. In 2021, the EU imported 43.5 % of the gas it used from Russia, a hydrocarbon that represents 21.5 % of the primary energy consumption for the EU and supplies to 40 % of the population.
What does Spain say of the pipeline?
After Scholz’s announcement, the Spanish minister for ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, stated to RTVE that she has talked with the German government to implement and expand gas connections between her country and the European networks, so that the fuel which it receives from Algeria and other places can be taken to Germany.
Ribera mentioned the paralyzed Midcat gas pipeline and pointed out that with the help of Europe, that infrastructure could be operational within eight to nine months to the border with France, a country that must do what is necessary so that from there, the connection can enter into full functioning order.
In addition, the Spanish minister considered that the gas pipeline raised by Berlin must be a «long -term» project, so that it has a useful life of 30 to 40 years, and that the entire EU must intervene in urgency. She also said that it requires a «very important investment» that the block should finance, because these are «expensive» and «complex works».
At the moment – said Ribera – Spain can support the supply through an increase in the distribution capacity of the two gas pipelines that reach France through the Basque Country and Navarra (Irún and Larrau), a process that could be completed in two or three months, after installing new compressors in the connections.
The Midcat gas pipeline was designed to connect France and Spain through the Catalan Pyrenees. It was part of the European Commission’s project list until Paris and Madrid stopped it in 2019. That connection would add 7.5 million cubic meters to the total export capacity of Spain, and would raise it to 15,000 million.
Beyond the Midcat, the EU previously has also raised the possibility of building a new 700 -kilometer pipeline, which would go from Barcelona, Spain, to Livorno, Italy, through the Mediterranean.France is «fundamental»
Ribera stressed that carrying this project forward is something that will depend, in essence, on the will of France. «It makes little sense that we run a lot if on the French side it becomes a dead end», she said.
For this reason, she said that the collaboration of France is «fundamental» so that the gas pipeline in Catalonia goes beyond the Pyrenees and can connect with the rest of the continent.
Ribera added that she is confident that the «energy emergency» in the EU, because of the conflict in Ukraine, may be what ends France’s opposition to make its share of the gas pipeline, a solution that has been paralyzed for years.
For this reason, she believes that it is necessary that Germany joins the «high level» conversations with France to «pave the way» in order to execute the project. She specified that if it is possible to solve the connection with the Iberian Peninsula, which is currently «isolated», the idea of the European gas pipeline could be realized, since the rest of Europe has «a kind of central skeleton«.
Thus, if Spain and France expand their pumping capabilities, the gas flow of the current 5,000 million cubic meters to 8,000 million could be increased, which would represent between 2 % and 2.5 % of the consumption in the EU.
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