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ENERGY

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.

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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UKRAINE

France charges two Moldovans over coffin graffiti in Paris

French prosecutors on Saturday charged two Moldovans suspected of painting coffins and a slogan urging an end to Ukraine war on the facade of a prominent Paris newspaper, a judicial source said.

France charges two Moldovans over coffin graffiti in Paris

It was just the latest in a series of such acts in the capital in recent weeks. French officials have repeatedly warned of the risks of disinformation and other attacks by Russia over France’s support for Kyiv.

Tension between Paris and Moscow has increased since President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this year he had not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine.

The two men, who carried Moldovan passports, were arrested overnight Thursday-Friday after six red coffins and the phrase “Stop the Death, Mriya, Ukraine” were painted on the building of right-wing daily Le Figaro. Mriya means “dream” in Ukrainian.

They are being held on charges of destruction of property and participating in “an effort to demoralise the army to harm national defence in peacetime”, the source said.

Six similar coffins were found early Thursday on the facade of the Agence France-Presse headquarters in central Paris, not far from the Figaro offices.

A source close to the case said the two Moldovans claimed to have been paid around €100 to paint the graffiti.

A separate investigations has been opened after graffiti showing French Mirage fighter jets in the form of coffins were found last Tuesday in three districts of Paris. They included the phrase “Mirages for Ukraine”.

Similar graffiti was discovered on the walls of the AFP building Monday.

Macron announced in early June that France would send Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of a new military cooperation with Kyiv.

On June 8, French police said they were holding three young Moldovans suspected of being behind inscriptions of coffins in Paris with the slogan “French soldiers in Ukraine”.

They were later charged with property damage and released.

Moldova’s Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi posted on X, formerly Twitter: “We regret and firmly condemn the incident”.

He said the “vandalism” was “part of hybrid tactics to harm our international image”.

Popsoi reiterated his comment on Saturday, denouncing an “instigation to hate”.

“We call on Moldovan citizens to be vigilant and not to allow themselves to be manipulated to the detriment of our country.”

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