Yesterday, the President of the Republic did not leave the slightest doubt about his Government's intentions: In order for IPTO to pay the recoverable costs approved by CERA, it must implement the commitments it has undertaken. However, he did not mention what are these commitments that are pending on the part of the implementing body.

The issue is developing into a tug-of-war between the Cypriot and Greek sides, with the cable being stretched more and more, with the risk of breaking and causing a serious rupture in the relations between the two governments.

Already yesterday, three important members of the Mitsotakis Government, the Vice President, the Minister of Energy and the government spokesman, did not hide their irritation at the latest statements of the Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos, and called on the Cypriot government to clarify its position.

A few hours later, the government did clarify its position, but not in the direction that the Greek side would like, as President Christodoulides fully covered his minister, stressed that the position of the Republic of Cyprus is unified and that IPTO should undertake its commitments in order to proceed with the project.

Although the President stated, in response to questions from journalists, that there is no rupture in relations with the Greek government, the developments of the last few days do not confirm this.

The Greek Government fully supports IPTO's request for the payment of the €25 million which was approved by CERA as recoverable expenses for 2025 and the Cypriot Government supports the position of the Minister of Finance that the money cannot be disbursed while IPTO's liabilities are pending, but without these being specifically mentioned by the President.

Fixed

In the context of an interview he gave yesterday to Fileleftheros - the full text of which will be published on Sunday - Makis Keravnos reiterated the position that the studies judged the interconnection project to be unsustainable, hence his reluctance to approve the payment of IPTO. He even makes a record of pending issues of the implementing body.

In particular, Mr. Keravnos was asked by his colleague Eleftheria Paizanou: "On the issue of the electricity interconnection, you mentioned that the project is not sustainable. Many times we have heard you say that taxpayers in Cyprus should not pay for a "frozen" project.  Will you finally consent to the release of €25 million to IPTO? What will be your next steps?"

And he replied with the following: "The government recognizes that this project has a geopolitical value. And beyond that, IPTO has not done everything that was agreed in a framework of mutual understanding, whether it is timetables, whether it is the construction of the project, or depth measurements, etc. Therefore, there is a delay in the project and on the other hand, no money can be released, since issues that should have been initiated by IPTO have not been implemented".

The journalist insisted: "So you won't consent to the disbursement of the money?"  And the minister replied "I think I was clear".

IPTO is waiting

For its part, IPTO insists that the project is progressing, with the construction of the cable at the Nexans factories and that the timelines for the final delivery of the project (2030) are not affected by the (existing) delays in the implementation of the depth measurements in international waters, due to Turkish objections and threats.

For this reason, the implementing body requests that payments start on the Cypriot side, on the basis of the agreement (framework of understanding) signed by the two governments in September 2024.  That is, a payment of €25 million  for each year, for IPTO's expenses justified by CERA for the period 2025-2029.

CERA has already approved the first €25 million, which, however, in order to be put in IPTO's pocket, must be approved by the Minister of Finance. And he does not give it, because he himself believes that the project does not progress at all levels, meaning mainly the postponement of depth measurements.

However, in the context of the 2024 understanding, the completion of any specific works is not recorded as a prerequisite for the payment of these €25 million annually to the implementing body.

They were angry in Greece

Yesterday, the Greek media gave wide coverage to the reports made by Mr. Keravnos on the issue, in the context of his interview with "Kathimerini". He had reiterated his position that the project, based on two studies he owns, is not sustainable, hinting that he will not consent to the disbursement of the €25 million. 

Commenting on Keravnos' statements, the Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking to ERT, said that the cable is part of the European energy plan and is not a national plan of Greece.

"It concerns electricity interconnections at European level and is therefore a European priority project."

At the same time, he underlined that "there have been discussions between the two governments from time to time. It is a plan from which Cyprus mainly benefited, in our view. For reasons that I think are obvious, Cyprus' energy isolation is being lifted. Beyond that, the commitment of the Greek Government is very specific. It has been expressed in many different ways, not only through statements, but also through specific moves by individual ministries and public bodies, but it remains to be clarified what Cyprus wants to do."

"As far as Greece is concerned, I repeat, our commitment is a given. It is the Cypriot Government, after the statement made by the Minister of Finance of Cyprus, that must clarify its stance," he concluded.

For his part, Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, speaking to Open, said that Athens' will is the completion of the project, adding, however, that "there is no way that the entire fiscal cost will be borne by Greek taxpayers. We pursue this task, our attitude does not change. A project that does not only concern Greece, the government could not say that Greek taxpayers will bear the cost."

At the Council of Energy Ministers today, GSI

A clear message to the Cypriot leadership regarding the Great Sea Interconnector was also sent yesterday by the Minister of Energy, Stavros Papastavrou.

Speaking to the main bulletin of ERT, he referred to the statements of Makis Keravnos, stressing that "they send an ambiguous message and create question marks". The Greek minister reiterated the importance of the project for the lifting of Cyprus' energy isolation, as well as the fact that GSI's revenue has been approved months ago by CERA.

"It is imperative that the Cypriot side clarifies its position.

Our position is specific and is being implemented by all the stakeholders involved," Papastavrou pointed out, while noting that the issue is to be discussed at today's informal Council of Energy Ministers, where the Deputy Minister, Nikos Tsafos, will be present on the Greek side. The Republic of Cyprus will be represented by the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Marios Panagidis.


Regarding Ankara's stance, the minister argued that Keravnos' statements concern the economic viability of the project, and not the Turkish provocations.