Apostolos Tomaras
The Secretariat-General of the European Commission has expressed the EU’s full support in the Republic of Cyprus’ energy plans and deals, including the second and final bilateral agreement between Cyprus and Egypt on a natural gas sub-sea pipeline.
The representative of the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, Anne-Charlotte Bournoville, who was present at the signing, relayed the Commission's support towards three options in order for the area’s natural gas to end up in European markets.
During her brief remarks, Mrs Bournoville said the Commission supports the current phase which is the transport of natural gas to Egypt, the EastMed pipeline option which is currently under study, and a third option involving the liquefaction of natural gas on Cypriot soil and its export to Europe. These comments are considered very important regarding the EU’s interest on natural gas in the area.
Bilateral agreement signed
The ceremony at the Presidential Palace came to a close with signatures on the bilateral agreement, as Cyprus Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and Egypt Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek Molla put pen to paper. Just before the signing, Mr Lakkotrypis described the deal as a landmark not only for Cyprus but also for the entire region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
The agreement is the first of its kind in the area that has backing from the European side. He also noted that when the pipeline goes into operation, it will implement the vision of transporting the very first quantities of natural gas into the EU.
The signing of the IGA for a Gas #Pipeline between #Cyprus and #Egypt is an important milestone for the creation of an #EastMed #NatGas corridor to the #EU and strengthens #Energy investment environment in our region. pic.twitter.com/zwiLjTINDA
— Georgios Lakkotrypis (@GLakkotrypis) 19 September 2018
