Amidst the European Union's long-distance race towards strategic autonomy, European gas system operators are strengthening their control over infrastructure, from the pipes through which natural gas is transported to the underground storage facilities where fossil fuel is kept available for the winter months, when demand soars. Specifically, Enagás, the Spanish manager of gas infrastructure in the State, and its French counterpart, Teréga, have taken a step forward in this direction, after reaching an agreement for the former to acquire 31.5% of the French operator's share capital.

It is from spring when Europe prepares for winter, at least as far as the supply of natural gas is concerned to face the energy consumption of families and companies in the cold months, when it skyrockets. In April, when the underground natural gas storage facilities are already half empty from the cold period being left behind, the different member states begin to fill these deposits. Furthermore, doing so when demand falls – the arrival of good weather and the entry of more renewable energy translates into a drastic drop in gas consumption, especially in northern Europe where seasonality is very marked – means that companies buy fossil fuel at a more reasonable price.

In France, there is still uncertainty around the MidCat gas pipeline, which would connect Catalonia with France over the Pyrenees. Despite the optimism from the Spanish government, Emmanuel Macron's ministers still see the infrastructure as a distant project. "[The MidCat] would take many years to come into operation and, therefore, would not provide an answer to the current crisis," the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, headed by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, tells ARA via email.

The war in Ukraine has altered many government plans, in particular, those concerned with energy. The fact that Russia, until now the European Union's main gas supplier, is using gas supplies to threaten the EU has caused politicians and institutions to look at projects that had been previously shelved. This is the case of the MidCat gas pipeline, ultimately cancelled in 2019, which was to connect Catalonia and France through the Pyrenees and would be a new way for gas to travel from the Iberian Peninsula to Europe.