An expensive power cable brings tension to the eastern Mediterranean

Ankara sent a diplomatic note to the Greek and Israeli embassies and the European Union delegation stating that no further action could be taken on the EU-funded project in the Eastern Mediterranean without Turkey’s permission. The network runs through the territorial waters of Turkey.

The background to this is a dispute over sea borders in the eastern Mediterranean. Last year, Turkey signed a bilateral agreement with the Libyan unity government in Tripoli, according to which the two countries share a common maritime border. Ankara and Tripoli ignored the originally agreed sea borders between the neighboring countries of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.

The planned power line will once again put the relationship between Turkey and Greece, but also between Turkey and the European Union, to the test – and could cause the territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean to escalate again, as it did last year.

Euroafrica Interconnector: Electricity for three million households

The big energy project had stood still for years. In mid-October, however, the energy ministers of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece signed a letter of intent for the construction of the so-called Euroafrica Interconnector. The capacity of the 1,396-kilometer cable is said to be 2000 megawatts – enough to supply three million households with electricity. Construction is scheduled to begin next year. Completion is planned for 2024.

The project would solve several problems in the region at the same time. The electricity generated from hydropower and the sun in Egypt can help Europe meet its ambitious climate targets. Mitsotakis argues that Egypt could play a key role in Europe’s energy security. The electricity is to be fed into the European grid from Greece via Bulgaria and Italy.

Cyprus and Israel would help the project to overcome their energy isolation. According to the International Energy Agency (IAE), Cyprus generates 90 percent of its electricity from oil. Israel primarily uses gas and coal and is largely isolated by its Arab neighbors and the Mediterranean Sea. The rational solution for both countries would be to be connected to the European power grid via Turkey. However, diplomatic problems have prevented this so far. And now, too, the Turkish government could thwart the plans.

Diplomatic tensions between Ankara, Athens and Nicosia have been intensifying since the discovery of underwater natural gas fields in the region a good decade ago. Relations between Israel and Turkey have also deteriorated since 2010 when a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza was ambushed by the Israeli military. Since then, Israel has accused Turkey of supporting the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas.

This geopolitical situation calls into question the rapid progress of the Euroafrica Interconnector. According to international law, Turkey’s permission must also be obtained for preliminary studies for the project, argues Ankara. If such a preliminary study is not necessary, Turkey should also be informed in advance.

Turkey fears its influence as an energy hub between Asia and Europe

It is not to be expected that Greece and Cyprus will seek approval from Turkey for the laying of the power cable. Because that would be tantamount to recognizing the Turkish-Libyan maritime agreement, which the EU considers to be contrary to international law.

The project has all the more potential for conflict as it is only one of several projects in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are also plans for a power cable from Israel to Cyprus, known as the Euroasia Interconnector. This line is to meet with the Euroafrica Interconnector in Cyprus and continue to Crete. The EU supports and co-finances the project as a “Project of Common Interest” (PCI).

Another energy project that affects Turkey’s interests is the planned Eastmed pipeline, which is to bring natural gas from production areas off Cyprus and Israel via Greece to the EU.

These projects would diminish Turkey’s role as an energy hub between Asia and Europe.

This could escalate the smoldering dispute over the economic zones and mineral resources in the eastern Mediterranean between Turkey on the one hand and Greece and Cyprus on the other – for example if Turkey should try to prevent the laying of the cable by deploying its war fleet, like in summer 2020, at the height of the dispute over economic zones and natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

This time the conflict has another geopolitical dimension: one of the project partners is the Greek network operator Admie. The state-owned Chinese electricity supplier State Grid has held a 24 percent stake in the company since 2016. With a bid of 320 million euros, the Chinese prevailed in the bidding contest against the Italian network operator Terna. The partial privatization of the network was one of the conditions that Greece had to implement in return for the aid loans in the debt crisis.

The project developer “Euroasia / Euroafrica Interconnector”, based in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, said at the request of the Handelsblatt that there were agreements between the governments of the participating states on the routes of the cables. The heads of state and government of these countries had repeatedly emphasized at their meetings that this cooperation project was “open to all” and “not directed against third parties” – by this Turkey should be meant.

The Greek Ministry of Energy left a request from the Handelsblatt on how to deal with possible objections by Turkey to the project, unanswered. The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had just announced a few days ago that the planned power cable to Egypt would play “a key role in Europe’s energy security”. Greece does not need to “ask anyone for permission” for the project.

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