BRUSELAS, 24 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The European Commission celebrated this Monday the principle of agreement between Spain, France and Portugal to abandon the MidCat gas pipeline project and instead work on a pipeline that will link Barcelona and Marseille by sea (BarMar) to transport gas and green hydrogen, if Well, he has specified that it is early to venture if he will be able to apply for European funding until the details of the project are known.
"The European Commission is awaiting the details, it is an agreement in principle announced by the member states that are now working on the technical details," the community spokesman for Energy, Tim McPhie, said at a press conference about a pact which was announced in Brussels last Thursday by the presidents of Spain, Pedro Sánchez; from France, Emmanuel Macron; and from Portugal, Antonio Costa.
When announcing the understanding, Macron told the press that the project has a "vocation" to be eligible to receive community funds for its development, although McPhie has considered it premature for the Community Executive to rule on these options until the technical details are known. process and procedures are followed.
In this regard, the community spokesman recalled that it is no longer possible to allocate community funds to the development of energy projects based on fossil fuels --such as gas-- because "they are not eligible", while projects for the green hydrogen transport.
To be eligible for European funds, energy projects must be part of the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) whose next review will take place in "November 2023", the spokesman has indicated. Until that date, the process "will continue its course" so that authorities and operators can propose their candidates to integrate the list.
The new maritime pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille is called to transport green hydrogen and other renewable energies, but it will also serve as a conduit for the flow of gas during a transition period, as reported by France, Spain and Portugal after the agreement.
The new solution will be about 360 kilometers long and will need at least four to five years to build, according to preliminary studies by the Spanish government, which was the promoter of the proposal to unblock the impasse in the development of the gas pipeline. MidCat through the Pyrenees by the closed rejection of Paris.
