Greece and Cyprus are accelerating efforts to advance the Greece-Cyprus electrical interconnector, with both governments giving priority to resuming seabed surveys needed to determine the optimal route for laying the cable. New momentum around the project follows the agreement reached on 5 August with the French company Meridiam, which has intensified consultations on the venture, even as recent Turkish moves in the Eastern Mediterranean add a further layer of complexity to an already difficult geopolitical picture.
Conducting the surveys will require a specialised research vessel, and Athens will also need to issue the relevant NAVTEX notice. Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou told ERTnews that the necessary procedures were already under way, though he declined to give a specific timeline. "The necessary steps to bring the project into this phase are already progressing. I would not want to give dates for communication reasons," he said.
Papastavrou reiterated that the project would proceed on the basis of international law, and underlined the significance of the involvement of both Meridiam and Greek grid operator ADMIE in what he described as one of the largest European projects of common interest.
Nicosia: "Closer than ever"
On the Cypriot side, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the electrical interconnector was now "closer than ever" to being realised. Particular weight was placed on France's participation in the project, which he said strengthened not only its financial standing but also its diplomatic dimension.
"This is not a project that concerns only Greece, Cyprus and France. It is a project of common interest which has received the highest level of funding. France's entry strengthens our diplomatic position," he said.
For Cyprus, the resumption of the surveys marks a critical step, with the project widely regarded as strategically significant for ending the island's energy isolation and connecting it to the European electricity grid.
Fresh tension with Ankara
At the same time, Turkey's declaration on 15 August of maritime parks in the North Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean has triggered renewed tension in Greek-Turkish relations. Athens regards the move as a further expression of Turkish revisionism and has signalled it will pursue diplomatic action to raise the issue internationally.
Greece's deputy foreign minister, Tasos Chatzivasileiou, described the Turkish move as illegal and said it produced no legal effect whatsoever. "In the coming period, the foreign ministry will take action to make internationally known what is happening," he said, adding that "nothing will be left unanswered."
The new Turkish move is also being followed closely by Nicosia, given its bearing on the wider Eastern Mediterranean at a time when fresh momentum is being sought for a project of direct energy and geopolitical significance to the Republic of Cyprus.
