Europe’s gas and electrical grids need expanding

THE EUROPEAN project is all about connecting countries. But when it comes to energy, that has often proved tricky. After years of discussion about MidCat, a gas pipeline through the Pyrenees aiming to bring imported Spanish natural gas to the rest of the continent, the plan was abruptly shelved on October 20th. France has its own energy plans, with a dominant nuclear-power industry and sufficient gas-import facilities for its needs, and saw little need to spend money on the project. As compensation, France’s Emmanuel Macron agreed to launch a new scheme—an undersea pipeline for natural gas and hydrogen from Barcelona to Marseilles, called BarMar.