French President Emmanuel Macron has said he does not support the idea of building a new pipeline to transfer natural gas between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe, despite the continent's energy crisis, AP reported,

Spain is pushing to build another, larger pipeline to France, a plan confirmed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Macron said existing pipelines between Spain and France are currently only being used at 50-60 percent of their capacity. "What does Europe need in the coming years? To produce more electricity on its soil and have a renewable and nuclear (energy) strategy,” the French leader said.

Macron said it would take five to eight years to build the new pipeline, noting that France does not want to import large amounts of gas in the long term.

“I think our priority is rather to get more electricity interconnection in Europe, so I’m more in favor of these projects,” he said.