Emmanuel Macron had not been seen touched like this for a long time. On Monday, the French President appeared casually in the Chancellery in a black turtleneck sweater. But the looseness was over in Paris. In a press conference, he responded only very tight-lipped to inquiries about the revived plans of Germany and Spain to build a pipeline across the French Pyrenees.
Because Macron does not want this pipeline. “I am not convinced that we need more gas connections” to solve the current crisis, he had already replied to Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Monday. And unusually snippy, he said in the direction of Spain: “I don’t see why we should jump up and down on this topic like the thrushes of the Pyrenees.”
That was probably to be understood as a reply to the increasingly strident criticism in Spain. There, commentators criticize the “French tie” and the “lack of solidarity” in France on energy issues. All sorts of resentments are warmed up there that go far back in history, which should not be inconvenient for Russia’s ruler Vladimir Putin. The question of the gas and where it should come from is causing a stir, not only in Germany. It is also beginning to drive a wedge between the countries of Europe.
However, Germany and Spain seem determined to be able to convince France to build the gas pipeline. Germany needs gas, Spain has more of it than it needs itself, only France would still have to agree as a transit country. “I expressly advocate that we create this connection,” said Scholz. Several cabinet members traveled to La Coruña on Wednesday for government consultations.
The pipeline ends in nowhere at the moment
The Spanish government has been campaigning for months to continue the shut down project. The idea for the so-called midcat pipeline dates back to the early 2000s, and construction began a good ten years ago. In Spain, the tube has been built up to Hostalric, 106 kilometers south of the border, and around 120 kilometers are still missing in France. Originally it was supposed to lead to Carcassonne in southern France. In 2017, however, the project was canceled due to a lack of profitability, but also due to a lack of interest from France. Environmentalists also have concerns to this day. The line ends in Girona in northern Spain – in the middle of nowhere.
From the point of view of Germany and Spain, the freeze on Russia’s gas supplies has changed the urgency of the project. So far, two lines have crossed the Pyrenees, connecting Spain to the rest of Europe. Their capacity is just seven billion cubic meters per year, but they have not been fully utilized in the past. For comparison: Nord Stream 1 transports 55 billion cubic meters annually. Midcat could enable the export of an additional 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, doubling Spain’s current capacity.
In addition, Spain not only has a direct connection to Algerian gas, but also an extensive infrastructure for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG). Many of the European LNG terminals are located on the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, where the liquefied natural gas is converted into its gaseous state and transported onward. There are six plants in Spain and a seventh is under construction – more than in any other country in Europe. In Spain alone, 34 percent of all EU capacities for converting liquid gas into gas are located. From the French point of view, the Spanish solidarity towards Germany is also due to the country’s ambition to assert itself as one of the key players in the reorganization of the European energy market.
This is what it looks like, the gas transport center in Hostalric, where the Midcat pipeline ends. In France, about 120 kilometers are still missing.
(Photo: —/dpa)
According to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Midcat pipeline is “about European security of supply”. Spain could become a hub for the export of liquefied gas and develop into an “alternative to Russian gas for many EU countries”. France should therefore give up “resistance” to the project. Macron, on the other hand, argues that he sees no convincing arguments for the billion-euro project. Midcat would take too long to build to now use LPG to alleviate the looming energy crisis. It would also be too costly for France and run counter to efforts to transition to a green economy.
France also wants to position itself as a gas exporter
According to the Reuters news agency, government officials in Spain and Germany, on the other hand, have claimed that France primarily wants to protect its own ailing nuclear industry and ward off competition from Spain as a stopover for imported gas. “Macron is under pressure at home from various groups who don’t like the pipeline project. The biggest one is certainly the nuclear sector,” a senior German government source told Reuters.
“We don’t have the impression that this is impossible”: Chancellor Scholz (left) and Spain’s Prime Minister Sánchez still want to convince France to build the Pyrenees pipeline.
(Photo: Miguel Riopa/AFP)
Macron also refers to an agreement with Germany, according to which France will deliver gas to the Federal Republic and receive electricity in return to fill the gap created by the necessary shutdown of its nuclear reactors, some of which are outdated. The agreed volume should correspond to around two percent of Germany’s gas requirements. France also wants to position itself as a gas exporter in Europe. “France has LNG terminals that can process gas for all of Europe,” a French government source is quoted as saying. France’s focus, as Macron repeatedly emphasized, should remain nuclear power in the energy supply.
The question remains to what extent Midcat Germany could use it at all. Josep Nuart, spokesman for a Spanish NGO opposing the construction, says the infrastructure “is not designed to ensure energy security.” In his opinion, it replaces “only three percent of the gas imported from Russia in 2021”. The pipeline is therefore not intended to even come close to ending the energy policy dependency on countries outside the EU. In addition, one would only create new dependencies on states “that do not comply with fundamental rights, such as Algeria or Qatar”. In addition, there are costs for the remaining construction of an estimated more than 440 million euros to a total of around three billion euros.
Scholz, on the other hand, said in August that the Pyrenees pipeline could “make a massive contribution to relieving and easing the supply situation”. In view of the climate crisis, however, natural gas should only be transported for as long as necessary. Green hydrogen will then flow through the Midcat pipeline.
The government in Madrid already has plans in case France continues to oppose Midcat. Spanish and Italian gas network operators are already considering the construction of a pipeline from Barcelona to the Italian port of Livorno. Cost point: almost three billion euros.