Macron shelves the gas pipeline between Spain and France

French President

said on Monday that

with Spain are not needed because the current ones are far from saturation, adding that the MidCat gas pipeline project is not justified for energy or environmental reasons.

Macron, during a press conference on energy, explained that the two gas pipelines that currently link the two countries, through the Basque Country and Navarra, are "

", since they have been used at 53% since February and that in August it was France the one that has exported gas to Spain and not the other way around.

Instead, he was in favor of "developing electrical connections with Spain" for the export to Europe of energy produced from renewable sources, he said after a conversation with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, about the energy situation in Europe.

The design of the MidCat, a gas pipeline that was to connect Spain with France through the Pyrenees, was proposed in 2007 as a way of escaping from the energy particularities that the 'Iberian island' presented.

The project should have ended in 2015, however, the lack of interest on the part of the French Government prevented the work from being completed.

Along with the Midcat, another of the projects that the Spanish Government and Europe are considering is the construction of a tube that unites Italy and Spain.

However, the project is more complex and would require more time than the connection with France.

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