Sanchez claims in Davos that Spain has “answer” to Europe’s energy problem

in an international context in which The European Union attempts to further increase sanctions against KremlinPresident Sanchez given in Davos, SwissAn interview for American TV networks CNBC in which he says Spain in particular, and south of europa In general, they can provide feedback for a reduction in gas supply generated by Russia in the war of aggression against Ukraine,

“Spain, and I would say more, in the south of Europe, will have an opportunity to respond to this reliance on fossil energy from Russia,” Sánchez tells the TV channel. World Economic Forum in Davos Monday night.

Sanchez highlighted that Spain represents 37% of the total regasification capacity The European Union, where liquefied natural gas is converted back into the final natural gas product. He also stated that the Iberian Peninsula occupied by Spain and PortugalHosts almost half of the LNG storage in the whole of the European Union.

“This war also taught us a very important lesson, and that is that renewable energy, hydrogen, energy efficiency are a great ally of countries and economies not only in combating climate change efforts, but in this scenario. The complex and uncertain geopolitical situation, it will also provide us with the means to increase our resilience and autonomy,” he said.

Prices hiked due to restrictions

Russia’s attack on Ukraine has destabilized markets, while Western countries have imposed sanctions, pushing energy prices up this year. Moscow,

The issue of energy security, and rising energy prices, has been at the center of political debate in Spain, with Madrid being one of the European capitals, requiring A joint European action to reduce prices for consumers.

beside PortugalSpain has introduced a temporary cap on the price of natural gas and Coal, A measure that separates the two Iberian countries from the rest of the European Union.

Sanchez, in the above interview, confirms that the EU energy market is not prepared to respond to the current crisis. “This is just the beginning of a great reflection that we must face at the European level,” he maintains. CNBC,

Busy Agenda for Tuesday

Pedro Sánchez will meet this Tuesday at the World Economic Forum, which is being held in the Swiss city of Davos, which includes prominent leaders Intel, Qualcomm, micron You cisco, large companies in the microchip and semiconductor sector to attract investment in Spain in this area. The president began his visit at noon on Monday and will return to Spain on Wednesday morning.

Upon arrival, Sanchez attended a private dinner hosted by the CEO of Intel, Pat GelsingerWith whom he also plans to have a bilateral meeting in the early hours of Tuesday. This will be followed by meetings with the rest of the businessmen: With the CEO of Micron Technology, Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm, cristiano amono And already in the afternoon with the CEO of Cisco, chuck robbins,

According to Moncloa, the purpose of these meetings is to attract microchip design and production capability, as the government is going to approve this Tuesday. council of ministersUnder the chairmanship of the first Vice President, Nadia CalvinAnd Harm Public investment in semiconductors and microchips worth €11,000 million was recovered from the European Recovery Fund.

In addition to these bilateral meetings, Sanchez will also attend a reception hosted by Qualcomm late on Tuesday, in which he will act as a special guest and give a few words to 50 CEOs of the world’s leading technology companies.

from moncloa pointed out that Spain is going to present these investments as an attraction to attract, a resource project that has built up over time and is the strength of the country, while showing that Davos is the best platform to present this project to big companiestransfer request from Asia For greater security of supply.

negotiation and investment

However, they caution that this type of investment does not happen immediately, requires lengthy negotiations and therefore does not include the announcement of major investments immediately after these meetings in the government’s forecasts. It aims to open the door to this possibility and to continue the conversation in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Sanchez will deliver a speech at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, in which he will present his vision of the world economic situation as well as the possibilities and opportunities that Spain offers. Soon after, he will hold a meeting with representatives of the participating Spanish companies in Davos.

Chief executive will also meet Dilham PuppiesCEO of Temasek, K Sovereign Wealth Fund Singapore, which has shown its interest in investing in Spain, according to Moncloa sources. The government will try to ensure that these investments are directed to areas it considers a priority, such as ecological transition, digital transformation and industrial autonomy.

Apart from this, there will be a meeting with the director of ArcelorMittal. Lakshmi N. Mittal, in which they will discuss pending investments in Spain. The company has several plants in the national territory and they are pending to start the decarbonization process.

The executive wants the company to invest in this transition and has indicated that talks are underway about what support they need to maintain the plants in Spain and, if possible, expand their production in the country.

Switzerland, Rwanda and Greece

On the other hand, regarding meetings with international leaders, Sanchez will be meeting with the Swiss President, Ignazio CassisWith the host of the event and the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame,

According to government sources, Rwanda’s election responds to the fact that it is an African leader with the ability to influence the continent and has been on the side of Ukraine in UN resolutions. In government they believe that there will be a lot of war related activities in the whole forum and they try to get the impression that there is about it in other areas as well so that the war legend is not lost.

Throughout the day, the President would also like to have an informal meeting with the Prime Minister moldavia, Natalia GavrilitaTo compensate for the trip he had scheduled for late April and to go to the deputy Congress to vote on the plan against the consequences of the war he eventually canceled.

The President will also attend a working lunch under the working title ‘Restoring Peace and Order’, participate in the Panel ‘Energy, Security and the European Green Deal’ and meet with the President of the World Economic Forum, klaus schwab,

In addition, he will inaugurate a dinner on Europe’s global role with the Greek Prime Minister. Kyriakos Mitsotakiso and President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde,