(VOVworld) - The EU took a step Wednesday to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. During a summit in Madrid, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, and French President Francois Hollande approved a treaty on building gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines to link the Iberian Peninsula to European electricity and gas networks.

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho speaks during a Franco-Portuguese-Spanish summit on March 4, 2015 (AFP Photo/Pierre-Philippe Marcou)

They explored ways to deliver to the rest of Europe the spare energy produced south of the Pyrenees Mountains separating France from Spain and Portugal and expressed their hope that all planned projects will be completed on time.

The new system will help the EU reduce its energy imports from Russia by delivering electricity produced in solar power plants and wind farms in Spain and Portugal.