Spain, Portugal and France reached a deal on Thursday (20 October) to establish a submarine “green corridor” between Barcelona and Marseille to transport natural gas, and, at a later stage, green hydrogen.

The announcement comes after months of failed negotiations to revive the MidCat gas pipeline connecting Spain and France through the Pyrenees.

So far, France has been reluctant to relaunch the MidCat pipeline — the 1250km project was cancelled after regulators in both countries rejected the costly infrastructure in 2019.

But Paris has now agreed to the new “Green Energy Corridor,” which would substitute previous plans for the MidCat, and increase the connection between the Iberian peninsula and central Europe.

The new pipeline, which will probably benefit from EU funds as well, is also backed by Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and largest gas consumer.

“This is very good news for Spain, Portugal and France, but especially for Europe,” said Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez ahead of the summit meeting in Brussels.

The project would help to respond with “solidarity” to the demand for alternative gas supplies from other EU countries which are facing “Putin’s blackmail,” he added.