The Diplomat
A delegation from the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee will visit Spain, specifically Galicia and Asturias, from today until September 21 to see the challenges facing industry with respect to the energy transition.
According to the European Parliament office in Madrid, the aim of the visit is to analyze the industrial challenges in a scenario of energy transition and high energy prices, as well as to check to what extent renewable energies are a key element to boost industry, economic growth and the population.
This delegation will be chaired by MEP Jens Geier (S&D, Germany) and composed of MEPs Marion Walsmann (EPP, Germany), Henna Virkkunen (EPP, Finland), Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Denmark), Izaskun Bilbao (RE, Spain) and Susana Solis (RE, Spain). They will also be accompanied by Spanish MEPs Pilar Del Castillo (EPP), Francisco José Millán Mon (EPP) and Nicolás González Casares (S&D).
The visit will begin today in A Coruña with a meeting with the First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Industry and Innovation of the Xunta de Galicia, Francisco Conde, the Secretary General of Industry of the Xunta, Paula Uría, and Inés Rey, Mayor of A Coruña. Later, the delegation will travel to Ferrol to visit the Outer Port – where they will hold a meeting with representatives of companies that are committed to the energy transition, such as Nervión Industries, Reganosa, Ence, Sentury Tire and Showa Denko – and the Navantia-Fene shipyard. Finally, they will travel to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Reganosa, in Mugardos (A Coruña).
Tomorrow, the MEPs will travel to As Pontes to visit the ENDESA-ENEL Thermal Power Plant, where they will learn first-hand about the company’s efforts to comply with EU Objective 55 for climate neutrality. In the afternoon, they will travel to San Ciprián (Lugo) to visit the Alcoa industrial complex.
Finally, the head of the delegation will meet the press at the Hotel Palacio de Avilés (Asturias) on Wednesday morning. The delegation’s mission will culminate with a visit to Arcelor Mittal’s steel production plant, where they will be briefed on the company’s decarbonization program and will be able to see the steelworks.
Last Thursday, the plenary of the European Parliament urged the European Commission to propose a “comprehensive, ambitious and legally binding” climate adaptation framework, with a special emphasis on the most vulnerable regions and to prepare a climate risk assessment, paying attention to the risk of droughts, forest fires and health threats. It also calls for a climate resilience test for essential infrastructure by the summer of 2023. The Parliament also called for the EU to set a land degradation neutrality target for 2030. The Union has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels through the European Climate Act and to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
