On Tuesday 19 December, in the margins of the Energy Council (see other news), Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson signed a memorandum of understanding with the energy ministers of France, Portugal and Spain to strengthen cross-border energy interconnections in south-west Europe.
“Cross-border interconnections are an important means of integrating more renewable energies into the EU’s energy system and of better integrating the Iberian Peninsula into the EU’s energy market as a whole”, the Commissioner said.
The agreement underlines the need for a solid energy infrastructure to establish a secure and efficient internal energy market and highlights the importance of a fully interconnected European energy network.
Building on previous cooperation frameworks within the High Level Group on Interconnections for South-West Europe, the signatories of the memorandum of understanding commit to establishing cross-border interconnections and implementing electricity projects.
New priorities have been introduced for offshore infrastructure and renewable energy projects, “exploring the potential for renewable hydrogen in the Iberian Peninsula and the potential for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen in France, as well as the corresponding transport infrastructure”, says a European Commission press release.
To see the memorandum of understanding: https://aeur.eu/f/a6l (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)