Commissaris Piebalgs onderschrijft het werkprogramma van Mario Monti voor energieverbinding Frankrijk en Spanje (en)
Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs i i endorsed today the work programme of Mario Monti, the coordinator of the electrical interconnection between France and Spain through the Pyrenees. The main objective of Mr Monti's work will be to propose solutions that could satisfy all the actors at national but also at regional and local level while fully addressing the need to strengthen the security of energy supply and power interconnections between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe.
"This electrical connection of European interest is jammed since years and it is now high time to decide how and what to do. It is not an easy project, but I am confident in the capacities of Mario Monti to identify the remaining problems and find the best solutions", said Commissioner Piebalgs.
"I have found a very complex situation - admitted Mr Monti who presented his work plan for the forthcoming months - my priority is to give clear indication on the added value of the project both for the Iberian Peninsula and the EU as a whole, but also to address local and regional concerns on the ground. So that negative impact could be minimised".
The first interim report of Mr Monti is expected to be delivered to the Commission, as well as to the French and Spanish authorities by the end of 2007. In this context, the coordinator plans to meet in the coming weeks - and in close cooperation with the ministries and the regional authorities concerned - all the interested parties to listen their positions on the future of this connection.
The high-tension electricity interconnector between Spain and France is a key link to secure the supply of energy of the Iberian Peninsula and to strengthen the stability of the European power grid. Despite these important functions, the project implementation is facing severe delays. The Commission has therefore recently appointed Mario Monti as European Coordinator in order to identify the problems at stake and to propose to all interested parties possible solutions allowing the project to start up.
Mario Monti was born in Varese in 1943, he graduated in economics and management from Bocconi University in 1965. After graduate studies at Yale University, he taught at the Universities of Trento and Turin. He is a former member of the European Commission, where he was in charge of the Internal Market, Financial Services and Tax Policy (1995-1999) and then of Competition (1999-2004). He is currently President of Università Bocconi, Milan.