The challenges in the energy area in Hispano-Portuguese relations: A necessary and useful space for international cooperation

Abstract

 In this paper we analyze the cooperation between the two Iberian countries: Spain and Portugal, in one very important and deeply dynamic security area: energy field. In the study, it is included a comparative analysis between the Spanish and Portuguese energy systems and also the factors of conflict and existing positions between the two countries in relation to energy security; and as a result the “energy poverty” suffered by both States. It is also included the prospects of reconciliation and transition to alternative energy sources. Along with this, the two countries, Spain and Portugal, have made it a priority to have a greater interconnections with northern and central Europe anymore. Moving forward to the Iberian peninsula, indisputable geographical location, to become the gateway to the European market for oil from Africa and other continents would increase, no doubt, its political and economic weight in the international context.