France trades MidCat pipeline for an already controversial new project

Euractiv | Oct 21, 2022 at 3:49 PM
  • Leaders of Spain, Portugal, and France agreed on Thursday (20 October) to replace the ill-starred MidCat project – a gas pipeline meant to connect Spain and France – with a new “green energy corridor” that would, at least theoretically, be able to transport hydrogen.
  • Europe is therefore moving towards the development of a new pipeline that should contribute both to “the completion of the EU energy market” and to “strengthening the energy transition in the framework of the Green Deal”, by opening up a way to transport by sea renewable gas between Barcelona and Marseille, the Elysée announced.
  • The “No to MidCat” collective stressed that the project remains “an aberration for climate and biodiversity”, because “the Mediterranean seabed between Barcelona and Marseilles is extremely rich and endangered [and] benefits from a high level of environmental protection…”, France3 régions reported.