Filenews 5 September 2025 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
Those who wondered why the European Commission approved funding of €658 million for the EuroAsia Interconnector, a private company that appeared out of nowhere, and trusted it for the national and pan-European electricity interconnection between Israel, Cyprus and Greece, are now vindicated. The European Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed yesterday that it is conducting an investigation into possible criminal offences related to the financing of the interconnection. The European Public Prosecutor's Office has not publicly admitted this, but the Liberal Party's information says that the investigation will cover former government officials, under the Anastasiades government, state officials who managed the EuroAsia Interconnector application, as well as executives of the relevant directorates-general of the European Commission.
The research is called to shed light on the following: How a private company, out of nowhere, with no previous action in the production or transmission of electricity, was financed with €658 million but about a year later the European Commission itself decided that this company was not in a position to carry out the project and could not convince investors to lend it or assist in the implementation of the investment. And after judging this weakness of the EuroAsia Interconnector, the European Commission made repeated representations to the new government of Cyprus (a few months after the 2023 presidential elections) in order to remove EuroAsia from the interconnection project and to select a new implementing body. With the Commission recommending – almost imposing – IPTO. And two years later, the governments of Greece and Cyprus, as well as the EU itself, publicly acknowledge that the project cannot be implemented if Turkey's objections and threats on international waters that it considers to fall within its continental shelf continue.
The information of the Liberal states that:
◗ One of the most basic allegations that the European Public Prosecutor's Office has decided that there is a prima facie case concerns a politically exposed person – official and his relatives, for whom an allegation was filed by name that he promoted from his position, for personal benefit, the investment of EuroAsia Interconnector, with the ultimate aim of securing generous sponsorship from the European Commission. The goal was achieved, with a sponsorship of €658 million. The largest ever given for such a project by the Commission. This aspect of the investigation will also cover allegations of involvement of other politically exposed persons or government officials.
◗ The European Public Prosecutor's Office has also investigated the circumstances under which the investment proposal of a private individual, without confirmed know-how and sufficient access to external financing, for an extremely costly and demanding project of national and pan-European importance (electricity interconnection between Israel and Cyprus with the European grid) was approved, supported and financed by the Republic of Cyprus (including with a loan of €100 million from the State from the Recovery Fund) and then by the European Commission. Among other things, the circumstances under which the European Commission and the Directorate-General for Energy, a few months after its decision to finance the electricity interconnection promoted by EuroAsia with €658 million, made repeated demarches to the Cypriot Government, after the 2023 presidential elections, in order to withdraw the then owner of EuroAsia from the project, due to his inability to access millions of euros in loans, but also to the lack of know-how on the part of his company. Something that finally happened, with the "mobilization" of IPTO, which bought the project from EuroAsia for about €48 million.
◗ A complaint has also been filed that an official of the European Commission, who participated in the management-approval of EuroAsia's applications for the interconnection project, was later found to be employed by the company in question.
