The Interests Of Italy, Germany And France Are Bolstered In Algeria

At a time when the crisis in relations between Algeria and Spain is worsening, relations with the major member states of the European Union (Germany and Italy in particular) are strengthening, in a development that would add more trouble to the government of Pedro Sanchez, which is heading towards isolation day after day.

After the rapid developments on the Algiers-Rome axis, after the recent visit of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which enhanced Italy’s chances of becoming an exclusive distributor of Algerian gas in Europe, at the expense of Spain, the turn came this time to the other European giant, Germany, which dispatched the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Katja Kohl, to Algeria on an official visit that will extend over three days.

Before the visit, the German official said, in a statement carried by the German foreign ministry, that “Algeria is a major player in resolving regional issues in North and West Africa. Therefore, it is important for me to intensify the political dialogue with officials there.” She also talked about the signing of a cultural agreement between the two friendly countries.

The German minister stressed, “I will present to the Algerian government the possibilities of expanding our relations in the field of energy. I am convinced of the necessity of using the potentials of renewable energies more, to shore up our bilateral relations,” noting that a delegation of German businessmen is accompanying her on this visit, whose main axes will be “strengthening the bilateral relations and expanding cooperation in the field of regional security and cultural exchanges.

The German minister and political activist in the Green Party is considered one of the supporters of the legitimate rights of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. In 2016, Katia, along with other German parliamentarians, participated in a call to organize a referendum for self-determination in favor of the Sahrawi people “as soon as possible, as required by UN resolutions”.

The German official was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Chakib Kaid. They discussed both the Sahel and Libya.

As for France, and despite the coldness in its relations with Algeria, commercial transactions between the two countries are progressing at a high rate, especially after the recorded crisis with Spain, as Marseille has turned into a haven for Algerian importers “escaping” from Spanish ports, in parallel with the decline in the quantities of gas exported from Algeria to Spain.

In this regard, the figures revealed that natural gas exports from Algeria to Spain decreased by 4.7 percent during the past month, compared to last April, while gas exports to France jumped to record levels, according to the latest data revealed by the Spanish company “Enagas”. , which attributed this decline to the problems between Algeria and Madrid due to the sudden U-Turn in the position of the latter’s government on the Western Sahara issue.

“Enagas” says that the slump in Algeria’s gas exports to Spain reached its peak last May, and the same sources estimated this decline at about half of what Algeria exported to Spain, in the same month last year.

Spanish media reports indicated that the quantities of gas, whose decline was recorded during the last few months, were transferred to the neighboring country, France, through giant tankers, which were active during the month of May, with a visit rate estimated at 79 percent, because France is not connected to any gas pipelines with Algeria.

These data confirm that the European countries, although they are linked by the ties of the Union, when it comes to economic interests, the national interest prevails over the interest of the rest of the other member states, as evidenced by Italy seizing the Algerian crisis with Spain to promote its interests in Algeria, as is the case of Germany, which in turn is looking for beefing up its energy relations with Algeria, as well as with France, while Madrid remains the biggest loser in everything that happens between Algeria and its neighbors.