Titled “After the Energy Crisis: Policy Responses in the Iberian Peninsula,” the document—prepared by the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos (FFMS) and the Brookings Institution—warns that the limited energy interconnection between Iberia, France, and other neighboring countries represents a growing strategic vulnerability, urging European Union (EU) policymakers to address it as an urgent priority.
The report examines the “swift and effective” response of the Iberian Peninsula to the 2022 energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concluding that due to abundant renewable energies, a robust liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, and innovative tools like the “Iberian exception,” the region helped stabilize markets and protect families from the worst impacts of the crisis.
Despite this strong performance and widespread public support for the energy transition, the authors argue that the region’s weak network connectivity continues to hamper the Iberian Peninsula’s contribution to Europe’s energy resilience.
“The Iberian Peninsula has everything to be a leader in clean energy in Europe. But the April 2025 blackout exposed how vulnerable it is without stronger interconnections,” states study co-author Gonzalo Escribano, head of the Energy and Climate Program at the Elcano Royal Institute.
Cited in a statement, Elcano argues that “improving connectivity is essential to fully unleash the potential of the Iberian Peninsula and secure Europe’s energy future.”
Currently, only 3% of the Iberian Peninsula’s electrical capacity is connected to the broader EU network, far below the 15% target for 2030.
The authors of the study warn that this bottleneck limits the Peninsula’s ability to fully contribute to European energy security, decarbonization goals, and green industrial growth.
Although interconnection projects with France are underway, they emphasize that Europe must go “further and faster.”
The authors also frame the issue as a geopolitical imperative, arguing that, at a time when global competition is intensifying and transatlantic trade relations are increasing, “it has never been more urgent to reinforce internal energy infrastructure to reduce external dependencies and strengthen strategic autonomy.”
Currently, US LNG is crucial in decoupling Europe from Russian supply, but long-term transatlantic cooperation on energy and infrastructure could be hindered by trade tensions.
