Let’s not miss the opportunity for her electrical interconnection Greece – Cyprus“which is a project a project of strategic importance for Hellenism but also for the entire European Union” emphasizes the MEP and member of the Budget and Security & Defense committees, Nicholas Farandouris.
In his intervention from Brussels at the 26th National Conference of the Energy Institute of South-East Europe (IENE) on “Energy & Development”, he emphasized that the EU has supported and financed strategic projects such as the EastMed pipeline and the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection (GSI).
The Greek MEP emphasized that the strategic importance of the project was underlined just last week by the competent Energy Commissioner Jørgensen in response to a written question by Mr. Faradouris.
The MEP emphasized that “just a few days after the Commission was appointed, the government is sending contradictory signals that create a crisis of credibility and freeze the implementation”, referring to the statements of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after the meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Christodoulidis. As he said: “Consecutive “updates” instead of binding decisions delay critical stages and discourage the agencies involved. And the lack of an explicit political mandate increases the risks for the schedule and the cost.”
Why is the Greece-Cyprus electrical interconnection project important?
According to the MEP, the interconnection “removes the energy isolation of Cyprus, allows two-way flows of clean energy and strengthens the resilience of networks in a turbulent neighborhood”. However, as he notes, “as a project of European interest, it requires a solid road map, transparency and timely decisions, not communicative evasions that erode trust and financial certainty”.
“Will this also have the fate of the EastMed pipeline?”
Mr. Farandouris has warned that Greece must actively support the interconnection in order not to suffer the fate of other projects that were “frozen” and discredited such as the EastMed natural gas pipeline. The pipeline would have brought gas from the SE Mediterranean via Cyprus and Greece to Europe and was also funded by the EU, but was shelved four years ago.
Call to the members of the Government and the KO of the ND
The Greek MEP called on the ND Parliamentary Group and members of the government to “stop a strategic mistake” as he said. “I call on my colleagues in the Government and the ND Committee to realize that the “updating parameters” invoked by the Prime Minister “kills” this strategic project by putting it on a path of postponement. It is not possible for business interests, Turkish pressures or their combination, to cancel a project of such scope that energetically unites Hellenism and shields regional stability”.
The Commission’s response after the Faradouris question
The Commission’s recent response on the importance of the Greece-Cyprus electric cable to the written question submitted by the MEP and member of the Security & Defense Committee of the European Parliament, Nicolas Farandouris, was clear. The Greek MEP had asked for “clear support from the Commission” and “condemnation of Turkish threats” after the events in Kasos.
In his reply of 7.11.2025, Energy Commissioner Jørgensen made it clear that: a) the Commission unreservedly supports the project and b) Turkey’s threats are subtle and cannot stop a project of European interest.
In particular, the Commissioner noted that “the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) pipeline is a ‘project of strategic importance’ that will end Cyprus’ energy isolation, the importance of which has just been underlined by the electricity blackouts that occurred in Cyprus in August 2025. It is also expected to significantly reduce energy costs for consumers.” As he said, “the Commission strongly supports the GSI project”, which is a project of common interest (PCI) and has been awarded a EUR 657 million grant under the Connecting Europe Facility.
Turkey’s threats
Regarding Turkey’s threats after the Kasos events, Commissioner Jørgensen replied to Mr. Faradouris that the Commission attaches “the utmost importance to safeguarding the sovereign rights of all Member States, in full respect of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”.