EU must prepare to face winter 2023 without any Russian gas, Spanish minister says

By Alyssa McMurtry

MADRID (AA) - Spanish Energy Minister Teresa Ribera warned in an interview on Tuesday that the EU may have to face the winter of 2023 “with zero molecules of Russian gas.”

“Our natural gas reserves are providing stability this winter, but sooner or later, they’ll be important limits agreed on by the EU in terms of Russian energy imports, just like the G7 recently announced regarding Russian oil,” she told Spanish broadcaster Onda Cero.

Ribera argued that one of the ways to boost energy security in the mid-term is by increasing pipeline connections between Spain and the rest of Europe.

Spain is home to around 30% of Europe’s liquid natural gas (LNG) regasification capacity. Yet, the Iberian Peninsula has been dubbed an “energy island” due to its few energy connections with the rest of the EU.

The Spanish government continues to push for the completion of the Midcat pipeline, which would allow Spain to send gas to France and the rest of Europe. This comes despite French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Monday that he was not convinced that the pipeline is necessary.

“Is this a bilateral issue, or a European one?" asked Ribera. "France has had a lot of problems with its fractured internal gas connections, so this is clearly not a priority. The parallel question is what other European countries want."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced his support for the Midcat pipeline.

The Spanish minister added that it is “highly unlikely” that Spain will have to ration energy this winter like other EU countries.

On Friday, she will attend an extraordinary EU energy meeting that she hopes will be the source of new solutions regarding energy shortages and sky-high prices.

“Right now, we are in the worst possible situation. Everyone is desperate because prices are so high, and each member state is trying to do what it can at home. This puts decades of construction of the interior European market, the level playing field, at risk,” she explained, adding that richer countries have advantages in terms of offering financial buffers to industry and citizens.

“We’ll also need to look at how to guarantee an intervention that allows us to avoid a series of bankruptcies in our industries or even utility companies,” she continued.

Discussing her expectations for the meeting, she said she believes that the European Commission will offer countries a “menu of two or three compatible solutions” to choose from, given that each country’s energy mix is different.

Spain and Portugal already enacted price caps on natural gas this year, which have worked to blunt price increases. However, Ribera said this solution only works for countries that are less reliant on natural gas.

Meanwhile, the minister said the price of energy is the most important factor at the moment, and it is hard to predict how high costs will rise.

“Europe has a lot of power in the international gas market. We need to ask how we can send a message about the price we’re willing to pay to avoid being taken advantage of because we’re anxious about the situation with Russia," she said.