Twelve EU member states on Tuesday called on the European Commission to support the creation of energy interconnections, especially electricity interconnections, to reduce energy prices in the EU in the face of market instability.
On Tuesday, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands presented a joint position paper at the EU energy ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.
“Interconnection and cross-border cooperation are key to reducing energy prices, facilitating the transition and market functioning, relieving network congestion and accelerating decarbonisation. It is high time to ensure that all member states participate fully in the internal energy market,” the position paper reads.
At a time when “electricity prices are fluctuating more than before,” the “cross-border energy interconnections are fundamental to the full functioning of the internal energy market, and urgent measures are needed to ensure greater integration of the EU’s cross-border electricity systems, including the realisation of the EU’s 2030 electricity interconnection targets,” they added.
“The next few years will be crucial for reducing energy prices for our industry and citizens. Our high dependence on fossil fuels, combined with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the fact that Russia has weaponised its energy supply, has turned out to be a dangerous mix,” the leaders added.
These leaders are therefore calling for “united EU action”, as in the case of the energy crisis two years ago, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This now includes “inclusive solutions” such as interconnections, notably through public support.
“In addition to ensuring adequate EU funding for renewable energies, such as through the Connecting Europe Facility and the EU Renewable Energy Financing Facility until 2040, Europe, above all, needs to increase private funding for investment in renewable energies, electricity grids and interconnectors,” the group of states, all of whom advocate for alternative energy sources in the EU, said.
Portugal and Spain have been calling for an increase in this infrastructure precisely because the Iberian Peninsula has few energy interconnections with the rest of the EU.
The RepowerEU energy package, launched in May 2022, is committed to this type of Iberian interconnection. Portugal is expected to continue old interconnection projects with Spain to reach the rest of Europe with electricity and gas (natural and, in the future, hydrogen).
In October 2022, the governments of Portugal, France, and Spain agreed in Brussels to speed up interconnections on the Iberian peninsula. They banned the existing gas-only project in favour of a new one, which includes a subsea gas pipeline that will initially transport this fossil fuel but will also carry green hydrogen in the future.
(Ana Matos Neves – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt)
Source: euractiv.com
