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Spain: Russian Gas Imports Soar 84% Despite War
Spain may be on a collision course with EU energy policy after a diplomatic conflict with Algeria forced increased reliance on Russian gas imports.
Spain may be on a collision course with EU energy policy after a diplomatic conflict with Algeria forced increased reliance on Russian gas imports.
Algerian authorities shut down the country’s oldest human rights organisation and now they’ve arrested Raof Farah, a dual French-Algerian citizen.
Libya became the latest North African country to sign a gas deal with Italy as Meloni continues the diplomatic blitz of the region discussing energy security and migration.
“Don’t forget the last colony of Africa, Western Sahara … Let us fight to free Western Sahara from oppression,” said Mandla Mandela.
Anti-French sentiment is on the rise in Algeria, especially since Emmanuel Macron’s statements in October 2021, when he condemned the political-military system in place.
Due to the dismal deportation rates, France plans to substantially reduce the number of visas it grants to Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan nationals.
The primary suspect, a 24-year-old Algerian woman who was residing in the country illegally, has been charged with murder of a minor accompanied by rape, torture, and acts of barbarism.
While the signing of 11 bilateral agreements is a feather in French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne’s cap, the issue of securing more gas from Africa’s top exporter remains largely untouched.
Franco-Algerian relations have been tense, with Macron’s geopolitical ambitions finding themselves inhibited in this theatre.
Despite the wide economic gulf between them, Moroccan diplomacy has by far exceeded that of Spain—the size of an economy is not a determining factor in deciding a country’s importance to larger players.