On the 27th June 2008, Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Energy, hailed the agreement between Mr Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain, and Mr Fillon, Prime Minister of France, to complete the electricity connection between France and Spain as soon as possible thanks to decisive action on the part of Mario Monti, the European Coordinator.

The agreement stems from the conclusions in the report presented by Mario Monti to Mr Zapatero and Mr Fillon in the framework of the intergovernmental conference which took place this Friday in Zaragoza.

In response to a request formulated by Mr Sarkozy and Mr Zapatero at the last summit between France and Spain, Mario Monti was able – very quickly – to identify the key issues still outstanding and come up with the right answers, after extensive consultation of the people concerned.

The report therefore recommends an exceptional solution, namely to put the cross-border part of the direct current line underground from Baixas, near Perpignan, to Santa Llogaia, near Figueras, using existing infrastructure as far as possible.

The two governments have approved these conclusions and instructed the competent authorities and the two electricity grid managers to take the necessary steps for the immediate implementation of this priority project of European interest.