Filenews 12 April 2024 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
Greece's Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, sends a stern message to the Cypriot government, warning that if the deadlines for EU funds related to the electricity interconnection of Crete – Cyprus – Israel with an undersea cable are missed, then "the likelihood of Cyprus being interconnected with the rest of Europe is dramatically reduced".
Mr. Skylakakis gave an interview to "Imerini" (imerisia.gr), in the context of the 9th Economic Forum of Delphi.
It is not clear whether Mr. Skylakakis was aware of the recent statements of ADMIE Chairman and CEO Manos Manousakis that the Greek Transmission Operator has already given instructions (despite its initial annoyance) to carry out the cost-benefit study for the interconnection, which was requested by the Cypriot Government, through a decision of the Council of Ministers and a letter from Energy Minister George Papanastasiou.
Mr. Skylakakis answers questions from the newspaper about the specific request of the Cypriot government and is confirmed by what he says that the Greek side was annoyed about this request, as it considers that it will cause loss of time and will cause difficulties in the rapid promotion of the interconnection. The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, reiterated on Tuesday that Cyprus supports the project politically, but the studies should be done "to be responsible" before a final investment decision is made.
Following the expression by the Cypriot side of the intention to update the cost-benefit study for the Cyprus-Crete section, Mr. Skylakakis clarifies that "we undertook, with the encouragement of the Cypriot side, a responsibility towards the European Commission, which has evaluated the project and has given great support. If the aid is lost, the likelihood of Cyprus being connected to the rest of Europe by cable is dramatically reduced. This is something that the government of Cyprus will obviously also assess. For Greece, the important thing from our point of view is to protect the Greek consumer and taxpayer and that is what we will do."
Then, the author of the publication (Yiannis Foskolos) points out to readers that, based on the 2017 agreement (updated in 2023), the sharing of costs is borne by 63% of Cypriot consumers and 37% of Greeks.
"We have shown a surplus of goodwill on this issue, to help not lose the project, but ultimately our responsibility is towards the Greek consumer and taxpayer," Skylakakis repeats.
For Greece, this project is positive, it facilitates balance, but it is not a critical project. "Greece is not an energy island. The important thing is to protect the Greek consumer as well. It is on these two criteria that we will proceed. And if the Commission's funding is lost, the likelihood of doing this work is dramatically reduced. And in this case no cost-benefit analysis will be needed."
As "F" has written a few times and as mentioned by IPTO, the sponsorship of €657 million from the EU has been transferred to ADMIE (and a small part of it has already been raised and spent), following its agreement with EuroAsia Interconnector, last October, to assume the role of owner and operator of the electricity interconnection. Obviously, the disbursement of the entire grant (based on the timetables set) will proceed normally, provided that IPTO will ensure the promotion of the project on the basis of these timetables.
