Olaf Scholz's government downplays Macron's new refusal within the framework of the European Political Community

Germany says it is "optimistic" that the MidCat project will go ahead

photo_camera REUTERS/MICHELE TANTUSSI - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

The German government said today that it is optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement with France on the construction of the MidCat Pyrenean gas pipeline, which Madrid and Berlin support. "We are optimistic that, given the scale of the crisis we are in, it will be possible to achieve good European cooperation in all areas," said Wolfgang Büchner, deputy government spokesman, when asked about this at a press conference in Berlin. 

After French President Emmanuel Macron had yesterday in Prague attacked the project, Büchner pointed out that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had also addressed the issue of energy security at the European Political Community meeting. "It is absolutely clear that we are talking intensively with all partners," he said, adding that Germany would continue to promote the construction of the pipeline.

MidCat

He recalled that during this week's Spanish-German summit in A Coruña and during his last visit to Germany, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez highlighted the "great advantages" of MidCat not only for the security of gas supply but also for the transport of green hydrogen in the future. Moreover, Büchner once again reiterated the position of the chancellor, who already said in Spain that he "explicitly" supports the establishment of this interconnection. 

"Another gas pipeline from Portugal and Spain to Central Europe would be an important step towards strengthening energy security in Europe in the long term, particularly in view of a hydrogen economy, which is our long-term goal," he said. 

Macron Scholz

Macron argued yesterday in Prague that building MidCat would take too long and would not be cost-effective, while advocating prioritising green hydrogen infrastructure over plans to continue importing gas from third countries. 

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the German government has been promoting the construction of various infrastructures such as pipelines and terminals for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to achieve energy independence from Russia. Berlin says it plans to use them in the short term to supply its gas needs and later convert them to transport and store green hydrogen.

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