Portugal, Spain and France commit to improve energy interconnections
Portugal, Spain and France reaffirm this Friday their commitment to work together to improve their energy interconnections, namely electrical, at a time when Europe is facing a crisis in this sector, fueled by rising prices.
The Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias, will include in Lisbon her counterparts from Spain, Juan González-Barba Pera, and from France, Clément Beaune, for a meeting dominated by themes such as a social agenda, such as the Union’s outermost regions (EU) and energy, including the issue of prices and climate interconnections.
Finally, in a joint statement, they stated that “the role of energy interconnections was highlighted by the global rise in energy prices”, and that is why Madrid, Paris and Lisbon “renewed their commitment to carry out electrical interconnection projects, in particular the Bay of Biscay, which will double as an interconnection resource between France and the Iberian Peninsula”.
“The realization of a more efficient energy market is essential for the success of the ecological transition and for the post-covid-19 pandemic economic recovery”, they maintain, reaffirming “the need to achieve an internal energy market”.
Ana Paula Zacarias stressed that, in addition to all European issues, the elements that unite the three countries are also the outermost regions, for which the issue of transport and energy prices is also very important.
A Portuguese Secretary of State underlined, on the other hand, that these regions are “entities that can bring very interesting elements for European construction and the broadening of European influence in the world”.
Spain, France and Portugal stressed, in the joint declaration, “the importance they attach to the reinforced partnership between the Commission, the Member States and the outermost regions” and, in this context, a Portuguese Secretary of State and her French counterpart expressed “solidarity total with the island of La Palma “, which for weeks has been facing the destruction caused by the volcano Cumbre Vieja.
A gesture that the Secretary of State for the EU of Spain, Juan González-Barba Pera, thanked, taking the opportunity to emphasize that there are a number of areas in which the three countries have a special interest in common.
Among these, he mentioned the importance of the Mediterranean, Africa and the social pillar.
In the joint statement, the leaders assured that the future French and Spanish presidencies of the Council of the EU will continue and deepen work on social Europe in areas such as working conditions and social protection, policies for young people and children and gender equality.
In January, France assumes the biannual rotating presidency of the EU Council and at this meeting the French secretary of state promised that the presidential changes, scheduled for April 2022, will not “put on hold” the work of the European agenda.
“I insisted on the priorities in which we want progress” which are “the climate and the social agenda – dynamised (by the Portuguese presidency in the EU) at the Porto summit and in which we particularly want to advance the directive on the minimum wage”, underlines the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune.