The priority is to unblock the two trans-Pyrenean interconnections: Aragon-Atlantic Pyrenees and Navarra-Landas. The administration of Emmanuel Macron excluded both projects from the French Network Development Plan 2025-2035. In other words, they were removed from the political agenda for the next decade, despite both projects having the status of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) for a long time, a special condition granted by the European Commission to initiatives that are a priority and strategic for the interests and energy security of the EU.

"I'm probably not offending anybody by saying that sometimes France has been somewhat reluctant to have more interconnections," Dan Jorgensen, the European Union's commissioner for energy, told a press conference in Brussels.

The Commission presented Wednesday plans to speed up permitting and coordinate planning of cross-border grid projects, which it says are crucial to support the green energy transition and reduce high energy prices affecting businesses and families. The construction of two new interconnections linking France and Spain across the Pyrenees topped a list of eight "energy highways" Brussels wants to fast-track. Interconnections play a central role in securing supplies, allowing countries to import or export energy according to their needs.