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| Yuval Steinitz, Israel (left), Panos Skourletis, Greece (center),Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, Cyprus (right) |
Cyprus, Greece, and Israel have decided to meet anew in December on energy matters, after energy ministers from the three countries met in Athens on Wednesday night.
Yiorgos Lakkotrypis (Cyprus), Panos Skourletis (Greece), and Yuval Steinitz (Israel) have focused on the infrastructure, with discussions centred on the EastMed pipeline, which is being designed to transport natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe through Greece. The three also discussed the electrical interconnection between the three countries through Crete and a new liquefaction natural gas centre to be built in Alexandroupolis.
The three ministers also decided on how to further the projects during the meeting that they had. Reports said that by the end of October the ministers had decided that an economic and technical plan on the underwater pipeline must be prepared.
A new meeting between the three ministers has been organised for December, and is set to take place in Jerusalem.
Skourletis: Stability brought to the wider region
In statements following the meeting, Skourletis said that the cooperation between the three countries creates stability for the wider region, which is significantly important.
He added that the discussion showed Greece has the capability of becoming an entrance platform for natural gas travelling to the EU.
Steinitz: Cooperation is better than ever
Steinitz has said that the cooperation between the three countries is better than ever, and “not only in the energy sector.”
He mentioned that the electrical interconnection will better the security of supply and that the underwater pipeline is being looked into as the first discussions with the European Commission have already begun.
Lakkotrypis: Discussion on the prospects of the future
Cyprus’ Energy Minister has said that the goal is to make the Eastern Mediterranean a necessity for the EU and the EU a necessity for the region.
He added that the discussion did not only focus on the quantity of natural gas that has already been found in the region, but also on the prospects that have surfaced for new future hydrocarbon research.
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