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EU chief calls Spain-France gas connections ‘critical’

EU commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called Friday for resuming work on a new gas pipeline linking Spain and France, calling it a critical element to reduce dependence upon Russian energy.

Published: 7 May 2022 12:32 CEST

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the Cercle d'Economia 2022 annual meeting in Barcelona, on May 6, 2022. Photo: Pau Barrena/AFP

“Now all of Europe agrees that we must cut our dependency on Russian fossil fuels,” Von der Leyen said during an appearance in Barcelona alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Last week, Russia cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria as the Kremlin reacted to tightening EU sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

“It is crucial for our climate goals and to end the Kremlin’s blackmail,” she added.

Von der Leyen pointed to the recently agreed plan by the bloc’s 27 member states called REPowerEU that aims to reinforce energy independence and reduce dependence on Russian gas.

Under that plan “we will privilege cross-border projects, for example the critical connection between Portugal, Spain and France,” she said.

Spain currently has six liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals that could help the EU boost imports, but the problem is there are currently only two, low-capacity, links to France’s gas network, which has connections to countries
further east.

A project called Midcat to link Portugal, Spain and France was launched in 2013, but it drew opposition from environmental groups and work was halted in 2019 when financing fell through.

Von der Leyen said the project has geopolitical importance and needs to be resumed now so “together we can set ourselves free from Russian threats”.

The Spanish government is also favourable about resurrecting the pipeline project. However, it doesn’t want to contribute to the estimated 440 million euros in financing needed as the project doesn’t directly benefit Spain.

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Too hot or too cold: Spain's homes struggle to keep comfortable temperatures

Spaniards are increasingly finding it difficult to keep their houses at comfortable temperatures during the summers and winters, and the problem has grown markedly over the last decade.

This follows new data released from Living Conditions Survey recently published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), which revealed that over a quarter of families in Spain struggle to heat their homes sufficiently in winter and that a third are too hot in summer.

The percentage of households reporting difficulties in keeping their homes at a comfortable temperature has increased by almost ten percent overall in the last decade.

READ ALSO: Why are Spanish homes so cold?

In the colder months, the proportion that say they can’t keep their property sufficiently warm during winter has grown from 17.9 percent in 2012 to 27.5 percent in 2023.

The summer heat poses an even greater problem for Spaniards. The percentage of households struggling to keep their homes cool enough during the summer months has risen from a quarter (24.8 percent) to over a third (33.6).

READ ALSO: Ten ways to protect your Spanish property against the summer heat

This comes as Spain faces record breaking temperatures year round and rising energy costs. According to Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), 2023 was the third hottest summer since records began, surpassed only by 2022 and 2003.

In summer 2023 alone, four official heat waves were recorded, lasting a total of 24 days.

READ ALSO: How the right orientation of your Spanish home can save you hundreds on energy bills

However, though rising temperatures clearly play a role, so too does geography, income, and poor energy efficiency caused by poor insulation.

Murcia is the region where the highest proportion of households have problems keeping their homes cool in the summer, with almost half of families polled saying they are in this situation (46.6 percent). Murcia was followed by Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia, Aragón and Extremadura, where the figure is 36 percent.

At the other extreme, in the cooler, northern regions of Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia, it is not even 20 percent.

Despite that, it is also the southern regions that struggle the most with keeping their houses warm enough during the winter. Murcia is once again the region where the highest percentage of families are unable to keep their homes at an adequate temperature over the colder months.

40.1 percent of Murcianos say they find it difficult to heat their homes over winter. In Andalusia and Extremadura the figure is almost 35 percent, the other two regions that top the list, meaning the three most southern regions of Spain came out on top.

In contrast, in Navarre, Castilla y León, and the Basque Country, less than a fifth (20 percent) of households report problems maintaining a sufficiently warm temperature at home during winter.

Household income also factors into this problem. INE data shows that the proportion of households struggling to maintain an adequate temperature in their homes increases as average income decreases. Among families with the lowest income levels, 38.9 percent say that they are cold in winter and 41.3 percent say that they are too hot in summer.

Of the regions that struggle to keep their homes warm or cool enough, Murcia, Andalusia and Extremadura all have some of the lowest median per capita incomes in the whole country, along with some of the highest levels of poverty.

Equally, the parts of the country where this seems to be less of a problem, such as the Basque Country, Galicia, and Navarre, are some of the wealthiest regions of Spain.

Housing quality and insulation also contribute to poor energy efficiency, which in turn makes temperature control more difficult. Even among households with high incomes, 15 percent say that they are unable to heat their property sufficiently in winter and 24.8 percent struggle to keep it cool enough in summer.

According to INE data, a quarter (25.1 percent) of Spanish households have not made any improvements to their thermal insulation or heating system in the last year, significantly more than the 14.1 percent who have been able to make changes.

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