Catalan Ombudsman brings Castor before EU institutions
According to Catalan ombudsman Rafael Ribó, a Spanish royal decree could violate the EU Founding Treaty regarding state aids. He asked his European colleague ombudswoman Emily O’Reilly to put a formal complaint about this case before the European Commission.
Relations between the Spanish state and the autonomous region of Catalonia traditionally are rather strained. The disputed Spanish decree aims to provide a compensation regime for the investments in the Escal Castor underground natural gas storage near the Spanish/Catalan east coast. The Castor Project is a submarine natural gas storage facility able to contain 1,3 billion cubic meters of gas. It is the most important investment ever made by the Spanish government in order to guarantee supply and price stability in the future. Ribó urged his European counterpart to request the suspension of an article regarding the passing off on a financial compensation for the investment costs; the consumers the bank interests, the maintenance of the platform and its potential dismantlement. He questions whether this advantage awarded to the concessionary company is complying with the competition legislation. The estimated total cost to be paid by consumers could run up to EUR 3.500 million.
The Catalan Ombudsman’s report, currently in the hands of the European Commission, is the result of nearly a year of research on the legality of the project and the performance of the Administration regarding the gas storage, especially with the passage of the Royal Decree Law regulating the platform withdrawal. Resorting to the European Commission –the Court of Justice of the European Union in the last place– is carried out in parallel to the announcement by the Catalan regional government that it will file an appeal before the Spanish Constitutional Court.
Earlier, Mr. Ribó also asked for the dismantlement of the Castor platform be dismantled because of seismic risks. Since these risks became clear, new gas injects are suspended. Mr. Ribó also insisted that independent technical experts should draw up a report about the possible impact of the hibernation of the platform on the environment and on the maintenance of the structure. The Catalan ombudsman specially requests that agreements obliging consumers to pay for the compensations be cancelled.
Koen Mortelmans