Brussels criticizes Spain for "falling short" on electrical interconnections after the massive blackout.

BrusselsNew warning from Brussels to Spain and France after the big blackout. The European Commission notes in its annual report on member states' energy plans that the state's interconnections with France fall short of the minimum requirements set by the European Union. "They fall significantly short," the letter from the European Executive states. Thus, Brussels points out that three of the largest countries in the European bloc—Spain, Italy, and France—fall short of the 15% interconnectivity target that should be achieved starting in 2030.

In this regard, the European Commission reminds member states that "investment in electricity grid infrastructure" contributes to a profitable transition to clean energy." In fact, several experts in the field They point out that the great blackout could have been avoided if there were greater electrical connections between the Peninsula and the rest of the continent.

Brussels' annual report was published just days after Spain and Portugal sent a letter to the European Commission calling for increased pressure on France to improve electricity connections. However, to avoid competition from affordable green energy that Portuguese and Spanish states could sell to the rest of Europe, Paris consistently places obstacles in the way and prefers to maintain weak interconnections.

Emissions Reduction

On the other hand, the European Commission announced this Wednesday that it estimates it will be very close to achieving the target of reducing polluting emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 1990 figures. Thus, the Community executive estimates that the reduction rate will be 54%. "The results are not clear," said Teresa Ribera, Vice President and Head of the Net, Fair and Competitive Transition of the European Commission, in a statement. In this regard, it is worth remembering that Ursula von der Leyen's government is watering down various measures of the ambitious green agenda that she herself had promoted in the previous term.

Thus, under pressure from the right and far right, as well as European employers' associations, Brussels has postponed the entry into force of some pollution limits for combustion vehicles and has substantially reduced environmental controls on European companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.