Portugal has intensified pressure on France and the European Union to accelerate long-delayed electricity interconnections, with a top minister arguing that the Iberian Peninsula remains an "energy island" despite leading Europe in renewable energy deployment.
"From the point of view of electricity and energy in general, we are an island," Portuguese Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho told reporters on 6 July. "And that's more difficult to manage. We need more flexibility, more storage and much greater grid resilience than if we were fully integrated."
Carvalho's remarks came on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in Paris to discuss power grid developments alongside her Spanish and French counterparts Sarah Aagesen and Maud Bregeon. Also in attendance was energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen.
A former member of the European Parliament, the Portuguese minister framed the issue as no longer merely an infrastructure project but one of European energy security, competitiveness and resilience. She recalled the April 2025 blackout that threw the Iberian Peninsula into darkness, which has become a key part of the political argument for accelerating European grid integration.
For the Commission, revamping Europe's grids is fundamental to the bloc's goal of accelerating electrification and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels, with a looming target to electrify the bloc's economy on 17 July.
