France stalls over allowing gas pipeline from Spain to pass through its territory into Europe

The construction of the MidCat gas pipeline from Spain into Europe is still uncertain after France stalls over allowing it to pass through its territory.

Bruno Le Maire, the French Economy Minister last Tuesday, August 30, announced that he would study the possibility of allowing the Midcat gas pipeline to be built through France. The idea is that the pipeline running from the Iberian peninsula would then connect with the rest of the EU.

His words came just a few hours after Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor called him jointly from Berlin insisting that he considered the project.

On Thursday, September 1, it was revealed that Paris had still not looked at the project. Subsequently, this Friday, September 2, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Energy Transition, promised ‘solidarity’ with other EU countries. 

She also spoke about ‘reinforcing’ the flow of gas and electricity for this winter, but there was no mention of the MidCAT pipeline, which would not be ready until well into next year.

“We have concluded that this reciprocal solidarity must be reinforced, starting this winter with these gas and electricity exchanges with Germany and Spain”, explained the minister at the end of a restricted meeting of the French Government to discuss energy.

Despite the insistence with which Germany, Spain, and also Portugal, and even the European Commission, would finance the operation, France still does not want to talk about MidCat, beyond assuring that it will work with its European ‘partners’ on energy matters. 

Le Maire said so on Tuesday and Pannier-Runacher reiterated this Friday after a meeting chaired by Emmanuel Macron, during which they reportedly ‘studied relations with Germany and Spain in a very particular way’.

“They are two countries with which we have important gas and electricity exchanges”, asserted Le Maire, without commenting on MidCAt, as reported by 20minutos.es.

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