Relations between Spain and France weigh on two ballasts: lack of electrical connections enabling the export of energy from the Peninsula to the rest of Europe; and border controls It applies to the Pyrenees. These two issues will be heavily featured at the meetings of the Interior and Energy ministers of both countries this Thursday in Barcelona as part of the Spain-France summit. In it, Emmanuel Macron and Pedro Sánchez will sign the first Treaty of Friendship between the two countries;
The most pressing of the two issues is the problem of energy interconnections. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the closure of the gas tap increased prices and alarming germanyIt desperately wants energy to flow freely on European soil to meet its gas or electricity needs.
But Spain is still technically an energy island to this day. There are very few wires to transmit electricity, and this prevents you from exporting copious amounts of electricity in bulk or importing it when you need it. France, nuclear power producer, Jealous of Portugal and Spain’s electricity export competition. It has the capacity to transport only 3,000 Megawatts to France over the existing network. This is only 2.8% of the country total. It is far from the 10% target set by the European Commission for 2020 or the 15% target expected to be reached by 2030. There are three projects underway to fill this gap: a new submarine link over the Bay of Biscay by 2027 (which will add 2,000 MW to the existing capacity) and two more (3,000 MW more, up to 8,000 MW) via Navarra and Aragón by 2030. Spanish Red Eléctrica warns that even if all goes well, it will be far from EU plans.
Energy Transition Minister Teresa Ribera and her French counterpart, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, will discuss all this in Barcelona before presenting their conclusions at the plenary meeting of Presidents Macron and Sánchez with their ten relevant ministers. Both will be interested in reforming the European energy market, where there is a “reasonable fit” between Madrid and Paris. According to Moncloa sources. Meanwhile, Macron is considering the possibility of requesting the extension of the so-called “Iberian exception” mechanism, which allows them to set electricity prices, beyond May. A solution for sustainability unless the 27 countries reach an agreement soon to reform the European energy market.
border control
Another of the disagreements between Spain and France is about the common border. macron keeps controls on Since the Bataclan and Nice terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016. During the pandemic in 2020, European countries tightly closed their borders, but then slowly started to open. France, no.
Government of Gaul Keeps six of 38 border crossings completely closed and the other three are only open during the day, as French sources confirm to this newspaper. The rest allow passage, but physical passport controls are implemented, especially to prevent illegal immigration. They are not permanent, they are random and deterrent. Spain reminds at every opportunity that these crossings should be reopened as soon as possible, get from the governmentbecause internal mobility is one of the assets of the European Union and there is already cooperation on immigration and security issues.
European justice itself has determined that: France goes too far in its use of the Article 25 exception The Schengen free movement agreement, which allows passport controls to be lifted “exceptionally in the event of serious threats to public order or internal security”. It’s something planned for a few months that has been going on for about eight years. Paris fears ‘secondary moves’ of immigrants. Moors or sub-Saharan Africans who came to Spain and then tried to reach France, where they had a substantial community to support them.
The French side suggest that the reopening could happen some time later. eventual creation of joint units to combat irregular migration and terrorism. It could be launched at the same summit in Barcelona, when the heads of the interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Gérald Darmanin, approved the creation of mixed brigades and a joint working group on migration. Reopening from the Élysée is conditional on both countries being able to deploy these operational units, as the terrorist threat “still exists” and irregular immigrant mafias continue to operate.
Picasso year
For the rest, relations between France and Spain are excellent, according to both governments. And the Treaty of Barcelona will be signed to seal good harmony. nine titles (security, education, energy, culture, etc.) in a text very similar to the friendship treaties between France and Italy or Germany. It will provide a stable framework for bilateral cooperation and establish closer and regular contacts between ministers and presidents, including the annual summit.
In addition to this text, Another one will be signed on Defense renewing the last one from 1983. In this sense, Spain, France and Germany are jointly running a billion-dollar project to produce FCAS, a European air combat system, after overcoming many hurdles.
2023 will be Picasso’s year, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his death. In this sense, it is expected Franco-Spanish joint program in honor of the painter, It will include exhibits from around the world, according to sources close to the summit’s organization. It will also be possible to announce that the digitization of the archives of Spanish exiles in France after the civil war was handed over to Spain.
Source: Informacion
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