The EU's plan to resolve the historic electricity battle between Spain and France

The EU is far from being a unified electricity grid. It is fragmented by member states, and despite the energy crisis and dependence on fossil fuels from outside the bloc, many countries still prioritize their individual interests and are reluctant to improve cross-border connections. One of these partners, as the European Commission itself has pointed out, is France. Thanks to nuclear power, it has historically been a major electricity exporter to the rest of the continent and fears that with better interconnection with the Iberian Peninsula, which is experiencing growth in renewable energy development, Spain and Portugal could become overly competitive players in the European energy market and overshadow its energy sector. The connection of the Iberian Peninsula with the rest of Europe depends on France for obvious geographical reasons, and although the European Commission has been pressuring Paris for years, it has not achieved significant progress. "The Iberian Peninsula remains insufficiently connected to the rest of the EU energy market," the document states. In fact, the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, himself admitted that the French state has historically been "reluctant" to improve cross-border connections with Spain. However, Brussels is persisting, and in Wednesday's presentation of the EU energy plan, it highlighted two electricity infrastructure projects linking northern Spain with France through the Pyrenees as priorities. The connection between Spain and France is currently limited to 2.5 gigawatts (GW), and with these two projects, the European Commission aims to increase capacity to 8 GW by 2040. Furthermore, Brussels also wants Spain and France to commit to further improving energy interconnections and to developing at least one of the two infrastructure projects. Brussels hopes to see this agreement finalized by the beginning of next year. Fewer blackouts and greater industrial competitiveness

Spain and Portugal have been calling for better connectivity between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the continent for years. Brussels, albeit with little enthusiasm, has also historically joined in this demand. However, the war in Ukraine and the blackouts, such as the one last April, have put a damper on progress. It affected our house, have caused the discussion to be back on the table with more force than ever.

The European Commission itself points out that the EU's withdrawal from Russian gas has diminished the overall competitiveness of European factories. Therefore, it believes that access to cleaner and more affordable energy, such as the renewables generated on the Iberian Peninsula, can be beneficial both for industry in countries like Germany and for the territories that export this electricity. Furthermore, it can reduce the use of fossil fuels, which the EU must import for the most part from third countries, thus contributing to achieving the European bloc's climate goals. Moreover, the European Commissioner for Energy has emphasized that better interconnection will provide greater security of electricity supply across the continent, including in France. "To give an example, France would have avoided 40 blackouts this year if it were better connected to its neighbors," Jørgensen said at a press conference.