The government of Emmanuel Macron denied that it had committed to completing its part of the European Union. Atlantic corridor of the AVE in 2030. Mediterranean corridor, but without fixing anything in the common declaration. This Wednesday, Pedro Sánchez assured the Congress of Deputies that he will ask France to “comply with the deadlines he has assumed” and to jointly finalize the high-speed link between the two countries with Spain by 2030. Sánchez said yesterday that it was the result not only of the meeting the Minister of Transport had with his counterpart, but also of my meeting with the President of France at the Barcelona summit.
As for the Atlantic Corridor, this date was never considered on the French side, and even less was agreed upon at the Spain-France summit in Barcelona on January 19”, official French sources reassure this newspaper. “As of 2030 Atlantic corridor This is due to an all-out error spread by the Spanish Ministry of Transport in a statement that was flatly rejected by its Paris counterpart. “As a target around 2030 for the so-called mediterranean corridor, “This goal was expressed in Barcelona, but not in the joint statement of the two presidents,” they said.
After meeting with his French counterpart, Clément Beaune, Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez celebrated “France’s commitment to cross-border rail links”. “In this sense, the French minister It has committed to complete both European rail corridors by 2030.After starting work in the Mediterranean in 2023 and in the Atlantic in 2024,” reads a note published on La Moncloa’s website. “The Minister has classified the Montpellier-Perpignan section of the Mediterranean Corridor and the Great Southwest Project of the Atlantic Corridor as priorities, with the infrastructures to be completed by 2030.”
Sources from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda repeat the statements of the Head of Government at the Congress of Deputies to the questions of this newspaper. They also remember this The commitment of the French part to be ready in 2030 verbally interpreted By the Minister in front of his French counterpart and in person Emmanuel Macron. They also add that it was not in the bilateral meeting, but in the general assembly.
in his speech in plenary session of the Spanish-French summitAccording to the memo, Raquel Sánchez said that Spain is “fully dependent on the interconnection of our transport networks” and that our country “has made great efforts to make the connection with France a reality”. “But we need similar pressure from the French side for these projects. To do this, both countries must adhere to commitments and the 2030 deadline for the completion of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Corridors.”
The Atlantic Corridor is a high-speed train project that will connect the French side to the so-called Basque Y. Madrid and Vitoria and the French cities of Dax, Bordeaux and Paris. The Mediterranean Corridor is its equivalent on the Mediterranean front and will connect cities like Malaga or Cartagena to Barcelona or Gerona and from there to France. Everything requires adjusting the width of the rails.
date 2042
A document from the French Ministry of Transport, dated December and thus before the summit, reads: “Completion of the Dax-Spain connection will take place within the last five years” [2038-2042]”, as this newspaper can attest. This document was used in Congress this Wednesday by PNV spokesperson Aitor Esteban, who sought clarification from the president regarding the foreseeable delay.
“I hope they don’t mislead you, what good is the approval if one of the parties later objects?” said the Basque politician. said. Sánchez said he was surprised by the document and assured that the Spanish government would “defend the interests of all its lands”. “We will comply with the deadlines that coincide with us and we will demand that France comply with them,” said the Prime Minister.
“The dates published in the press are purely speculation, for referring to a parliamentary advisory reportWhat is not yet finished and can be handed over to the French authorities this Friday”, the same French sources reassure this newspaper.
Madrid-Vitoria-Dax-Paris high-speed connection, Strategic project of the European Union and prefers to receive financing from Brussels. Along with the Mediterranean corridor, another historical claim of the Levante Autonomous Communities, the long-awaited AVE Atlantic corridor, which is one of the major railway projects, will be completed when it is completed.
Border crossings and interconnections
Spain and France have several disputes over connections on both sides of the border.
Last week, diplomatic tensions reached unprecedented heights over the joint water canal project to connect the peninsula to France and Germany. As this newspaper announced, France now requires the H2Med project to be able to ship its nuclear hydrogen to Spain. H2Med is a canal that will connect Portugal to Spain and Spain to France and Germany around 2030, and will include a gigantic sea tube between Barcelona and Marseille. It replaces another project, MidCat, which Macron finally ousted after months of political wrangling.
The lack of electrical connections from Spain was also criticized. In an interview with this newspaper, the French ambassador denied that his country had blocked electricity exports from Spain. Current cabling only allows a maximum of 3% to be sent to France and the rest of Europe. When Europe wants it to be at least 10% of the total power produced. “The only hurdle is geology,” Casa said, referring to an unexpectedly deep pit that stalled the Bay of Biscay offshore interconnection project.
Another diplomatic disturbance is France’s unilateral and prolonged closure of its border crossings with the Basque Country and Catalonia. The French Government keeps six of the 38 crossings fully closed and the other three open only during the day. The rest are allowed to pass, but physical passport checks are applied, especially to prevent illegal immigration. They are not permanent, they are random and deterrent.