Portugal, Spain and France want "fast"

The leaders of Portugal, Spain and France pledged at a summit in Lisbon on Friday to "speed up" an electrical interconnection linking the three countries, a project that will receive "the most great European financial support of all time "

This project concerns Portugal, Spain and France and aims to achieve the European goal of 10% of the level of electricity interconnections by 2020 , providing for connections between Portugal and Spain (Galicia) and Spain. France (by the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees).

In the agreement signed today at the 2nd Energy Interconnection Summit held in Lisbon, "the signatories [Portugal, Espanha e França] welcome the progress of the strategic project of the Bay of Biscay "which has received" the greatest support "European financial system to an energy infrastructure. "

"In this context, they insist on the need to ensure quickly its operability" and "welcome the priority that the EIB [Banco Europeu de Investimento] undertakes to give to the evaluation of the financing of this infrastructure, "says the same document.

This is an investment of 578 million euros for the first phase, an amount to be borne by EU funds already approved by the European Commission.

These funds add additional funds from the EIB not yet quantified to advance the project, as well as infrastructure linking Portugal and Spain, between Vila Fria-Vila do Conde-Recarei (Portugal) and Beariz- Fontefría (Spain).

In this agreement, the signatory countries "also express their full support for the acceleration of the work of preparation and identification of funding sources within the European framework to evaluate and implement new projects. Electricity interconnection between France and Spain "" the new interconnections will also require further strengthening of existing networks in order to take full advantage of their capabilities. "

"Committed to the creation of the European Union of energy and the European energy transition, the signatories reaffirm the strategic objective of the interconnections for the realization of an internal market of the energy fully operational, safe, competitive, clean and interconnected, are committed to increasing the sustainability of energy, "reads the document.

In addition to electricity, gas interconnections are provided by "the development of transport, storage and import infrastructure to allow Europe to fully benefit from this source of electricity. "Energy", according to the agreement signed today.

Thus, "Portugal, France and Spain recognize the importance of gas interconnections in the region, both for regional purposes and as an essential contribution to the security of the region. supply on the European natural gas market ".

The document was signed by the Heads of Government of Portugal, António Costa, and of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, as well as by the European Commissioner for Climate Change and Climate Change. Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete.

Addressing the Lusa news agency, Economy Minister Manuel Caldeira Cabral pointed out that the project in question would have "very important consequences such as falling prices".

"The Iberian Peninsula has historically had higher electricity prices than central European Union prices, and this isolation of the market has contributed to these higher prices," he said. -he explains.

At the same time, "this increase in interconnection capacity will allow more and more Portugal to dispose of some of its energy, especially energy produced from renewable energy, "Caldeira Cabral said.

ANE // JNM

Lusa / End

07/27/2018 19:04:27 GMT