{"id":222661,"date":"2022-10-31T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=222661"},"modified":"2022-10-26T05:31:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T04:31:03","slug":"europe-in-its-labyrinth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/10\/europe-in-its-labyrinth\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe in Its Labyrinth"},"content":{"rendered":"

24 Oct 2022 – <\/em>European politicians continue to run in all directions to find a way out of their energy crisis. One of them \u2013 Simonetta Sommaruga, the Swiss Environment Minister, asked people to \u2018shower together\u2019. Others are competing to grant the business of transporting energy from the North of Africa to the continent. All this is not new.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

European Union leaders struggle to find solutions for the energy crisis. <\/strong><\/em>
\nCredit: Bigstock<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The MidCat<\/strong>: In 2010, a project aimed at transporting 7.500 million cubic metres of gas by linking Catalonia (Spain) to Occitania (France) and from there to other European Union countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

With an initial estimated cost at over three billion Euro, this MidCat project was quasi-blocked just one year later, to be finally stopped in 2018 following cost and impact studies.<\/p>\n

Following the energy impact of the comdemnable proxy war in Ukraine, Spain has recently proposed relaunching the MIDCAT. But France continued to block the project alleging high costs. Maybe also under the heavy pressure of its extended, powerful business of nuclear plants?<\/p>\n

The Italian Connexion<\/strong>: Meanwhile, taking advantage of the deteriorated relations between Spain and Algeria due to Madrid\u2019s support to the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco, Rome rushed to negotiate with Algiers the transportation of the Algerian gas and oil to Europe through Italy.<\/p>\n

But this project hasn\u2019t worked out either.<\/p>\n

The Turkish Pipe<\/strong>: At that state, Ankara proposed in September 2022 transporting Russian fossil fuels to Europe through a Turkish pipeline crossing the country\u2019s territory. Also this way out was soon discarded.<\/p>\n

The BarMar<\/strong>: During their yet another summit in late October, the European Union\u2019s heads of state and governments launched more debates on how to grant their energy supplies.<\/p>\n

At the end, the leaders of Spain, Portugal, and France agreed on 20 October 2022 to replace the MidCat project with a new \u201cgreen energy corridor\u201d that would be able to transport hydrogen. And they called it BarMar.<\/p>\n

Where From?<\/strong> So far, no accurate details are known of the major features of such a project. For instance: where will this hydrogen come from?<\/p>\n

According to the European Union\u2019s data<\/a>, hydrogen accounts for less than 2% of Europe\u2019s present energy consumption and is primarily used to produce chemical products, such as plastics and fertilisers. 96% of this hydrogen production is through natural gas, resulting in significant amounts of CO2 emissions. So?<\/p>\n

How Green Is the \u201cGreen Energy Corridor\u201d?<\/strong>: The BarMar project\u2019s defenders say that hydrogen is the future of energy. Critics insist that hydrogen is most efficient if it is used around its source.<\/p>\n

Anyway, if it is so green, why has the West, including Europe, not turned up sooner to this source of energy?<\/p>\n

For How Long. How Much? Who Will Pay?<\/strong>: This BarMar project implies great costs and, according to European sources, it would be a sort of a \u201ctransitional\u201d plan. To what? How long will it take to implement the project?<\/p>\n

Not having released specific final details, the Spanish, Portuguese and French leaders decided to meet in December 2022 to discuss those details.<\/p>\n

Where Will the Money Come From?<\/strong> For now, French President Emmanuel Macron rushed to put the bandage before the wound, saying that the BarMar project would \u201cbenefit from European funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The European Union\u2019s funds are composed of the proportional contribution of each one of its 27 member countries, with Germany being the major contributor.<\/p>\n

However, in view of the big European financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now exacerbated by Ukraine\u2019s proxy war, a big portion of such reserves have been designated to alleviate the economic and social impacts, let alone the spectacular rise of fossil fuels prices for citizens.<\/p>\n

The Military Race<\/strong>: During NATO\u2019s Summit in Madrid, this Western alliance of 30 countries, decided to further militarise Europe by increasing the continent\u2019s spending on weapons and multiplying its troops, in addition to further extending its presence in Africa. Such militarisation process implies high costs to Europe.<\/p>\n

In addition, following the United States\u2019 huge weapons supplies to Ukraine, which for now are estimated at more than 17 billion US dollars, European countries have also continued to send weapons to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Here, some European politicians started talking about the urgent need to replenish the continent\u2019s \u201cempty weapons shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the European leaders have just decided to transfer to Ukraine up to 1.5 billion US dollars\u2026 every single month\u2026 as part of the estimated 3 to 3.5 billion\u2026 a month\u2026 that the West decided to send to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Is the Fossil Fuels Rush Over Anytime Soon?<\/strong> Not really. Germany seems to be thinking about reopening their nuclear plants to produce electricity.<\/p>\n

Norway is reported as planning to increase oil production from the Northern Sea. The United States, being the world\u2019s largest oil producer, has doubled its liquified gas supplies to Europe.<\/p>\n

Venezuela, Saudi Arabia<\/strong>: Washington decided that the heavily sanctioned Nicolas Maduro\u2019s government in Venezuela is not all that bad, therefore the US has approached Caracas to increase its fossil fuels production.<\/p>\n

At the time, Western leaders pressured the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC<\/a>), which groups 13 oil-exporting \u2018developing nations,\u2019 to pump more oil and gas in the market.<\/p>\n

Having OPEC\u2019s top producer: Saudi Arabia shown reluctance, the US-led West has threatened to punish their own \u201cfriend and ally\u201d \u2014 the Saudis, through sanctions.<\/p>\n

Carbon, Fracking<\/strong>: Meanwhile, several European states, mostly the EU Eastern member countries, have been steadily intensifying the extraction and use of another fossil fuel: coal.<\/p>\n

And one more European country however is no longer an EU member: the United Kingdom plans to extend the business of \u201cfracking\u201d.<\/p>\n

Further to the United Kingdom\u2019s parliamentary debates around the already ousted Liz Truss Conservative government plan to lift the 2019 decision to ban fracking, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC<\/a>) reminded <\/a>that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock.<\/p>\n

And that it involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer in order to release the gas inside.<\/p>\n

Environmental organisations and activists worldwide continue to warn about the high dangers to Earth of carrying out such an activity. An activity that, by the way, is still widely extended in the world\u2019s biggest fossil energy producer\u2013the United States.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Baher Kamal, <\/em>a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/a>, <\/em>is an Egyptian-born, Spanish national, secular journalist, with over 45 years of professional experience \u2014 from reporter to special envoy to chief editor of national dailies and an international news agency. Baher is former <\/em>Senior Advisor<\/a> <\/em>to the Director General of the international news agency IPS (Inter Press Service)<\/a> and he also contributed to prestigious magazines such as <\/em>TRANSCEND Media Service<\/a>, GEO, Muy Interesante, and<\/em> Natura, Spain<\/em>. He is also publisher and editor of<\/em> Human Wrongs Watch.<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 human-wrongs-watch.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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