Midcat pipeline: Macros prevails

sThere was a fight in Spain and Portugal over the midcat. In the end, “Badmar” came out of it. A “green energy corridor” under the Mediterranean is meant to connect Barcelona with Marseille and close the vast gap that still exists between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa try in vain to defeat the French President Emmanuel Macron To explain the second version of the above ground midcat pipeline (“Midi-Catalonia”) from Catalonia to the French Midi region.

The federal government hoped that this pipeline in the Pyrenees would initially supply gas to Germany and later with “green” hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources. was only on friday Olaf Scholzo Sánchez and Costa spoke in Berlin about the project, which the chancellor had previously “explicitly” promoted. But the final attempt by the two Iberian heads of government at the start of the EU summit in Brussels also failed: Macron won, and all three eventually declared themselves winners. Spain’s “weight” in the EU’s energy supply is increasing, Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Friday and the country is finally getting much-needed connections to Europe.

Agreement on the “Green Energy Corridor” for the French President barcelona Marseille was marked as a major diplomatic success. The Elysee Palace watched with increasing annoyance as the German government pressed for the completion of the Midcat Pipeline in the Pyrenees. On one occasion, Macron also publicly vented his irritation, responding to a journalist’s question that Midcat was not the chancellor’s case. The fact that the Midcat project is now finally being abandoned is seen as a negotiated success in Paris.

Macron and Scholz want to move on

In Brussels, Macron struck more conciliatory tones in the early hours of the morning. A meeting with Scholz is scheduled in Paris on Wednesday to “move on”. Energy issues should be taken care of. The French government has repeatedly argued against the midcat as a gas link through protected natural areas and wine-growing areas. Above all, it saw technical difficulties in converting the existing gas connection in the Rhne valley to transport hydrogen. In addition, there is a suspicion in Paris that reliance on natural gas, which the federal government describes as a “bridging technology”, could last longer than is currently reported. Therefore, there was a reluctance to build a new infrastructure for fossil fuels.

In Brussels, Macron emphasized how the planned green corridor would “contribute to strengthening the energy transition” and increase access to alternative energy sources in Europe. Europe facility should be provided. France suspects that Germany is co. will not meet its climate goals for₂– In the context of the Russian gas supply shutdown, emissions may drop. The joint communiqué from the three heads of state and government explicitly mentioned that the sea connection from Barcelona to Marseille should only be used as a “temporary and transitional energy source” for a “limited portion of natural gas”.