Energy interconnector summit in Lisbon: the EIB commits to supporting further EU energy market integration

• EIB Vice-President Navarro joins the meeting with Prime Minister Costa, President Macron, President Sánchez and EC Commissioner Arias-Cañete to boost the development of energy interconnections in South-West Europe
• Over the last ten years, the EIB has provided more than EUR 3.6 billion to foster priority electricity and natural gas networks in Portugal, Spain and France

The European Investment Bank (EIB) stands ready to continue financing energy infrastructure in the Iberian Peninsula and France in order to strengthen the connections with the rest of the EU energy market. EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro underlined the EU bank’s commitment after a meeting in Lisbon with Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, President of France Emmanuel Macron, President of Spain Pedro Sánchez and EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete during the second Summit on Energy Interconnections for South-West Europe.

The Lisbon Declaration reaffirmed the pledges made at the first Energy Interconnector Summit, held in Madrid in 2015, and expressed the will to move towards a single fully interconnected and competitive energy market. In a joint statement, the EU leaders agreed to actively promote energy transition and the decarbonisation of the economy and stressed the need to support cross-border connections between gas and electricity networks. The Declaration recognises the pivotal role of the EIB in mobilising the resources required to achieve these targets.

During the summit, the EIB highlighted the importance of developing a better-connected European energy market, a crucial step in improving the security of energy supply across Europe, promoting action against climate change and increasing the use of renewable energy. Supporting gas and electricity interconnections to facilitate the completion of the internal energy market and to eradicate energy islands is one of the key priorities of the EU bank.

EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro said: “Energy interconnections are key to guaranteeing a stable, secure and available energy supply at competitive prices for both citizens and businesses. I would like to underline the EIB’s contribution to the development of this infrastructure. To date, the Bank has financed a significant number of strategic energy facilities. Today, I reiterated to the Heads of Government of Portugal, France and Spain the commitment of the European Investment Bank, as the EU bank, to continue providing support, as we have done in the past, for new initiatives in this direction”.

Over the last 10 years, the EIB has provided more than EUR 3.6 billion to support energy interconnection infrastructure in Spain, France and Portugal, including EUR 350 million to finance the INELFE electricity connection between Spain and France, one of the 173 priority Projects of Common Interest identified by the European Commission to create an Energy Union. The EU bank is also financing the Ponte de Vila Fria-Vila do Conde-Recarei (Portugal) and Beariz-Fontefría (Spain) interconnectors, which will improve the electricity link between Spain and Portugal.

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Source: eib.org