EU launches investigation into Great Sea Interconnector

The European chief public prosecutor’s office (EPPO) on Thursday confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the Great Sea Interconnector project, which has been planned to link the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel.

It told the Cyprus News Agency that it will not provide any further information on the matter at present “so as not to jeopardise the outcome of the investigation”.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis was asked to comment on the matter during his press briefing on Thursday afternoon and said that President Nikos Christodoulides had been informed about the investigation on Wednesday.

“At this time, we do not have any more information. Of course, we believe and it is our consistent position for all projects of this scope and importance that wherever there are any shadows, these shadows must be dispelled, and the EPPO’s investigation is something we believe should be completed as soon as possible to clarify whether there is evidence or not,” he said.

He added that the government also has no information regarding the subject of the information, before saying that “the information we have is that there have been some complaints” and repeating that “we do not have any more information”.

He was then asked whether Christodoulides agrees with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos’ position that the project is at present “not sustainable”, and said that “the government’s position is one and it is unified”.

“As the president stated yesterday, the viability of the project depends on the implementation of conditions” by Greece’s independent power transmission system operator Admie, which is the project’s 51 per cent shareholder and implementing body.

Asked then whether Keravnos agrees with Christodoulides’ position, he said, “this is the government’s position, that the implementing body should proceed with the implementation of its commitments”.

“This is a unified position held by the entire government,” he reiterated.

“It is to the benefit of this project, a very important project for the region, for our country, for Greece, for Europe, that these commitments be implemented as soon as possible so that the project can proceed,” he said.

He then insisted that the Cypriot government has “no difference of opinion with the Greek government” over the matter.

“There are obligations which the implementing body has undertaken, and I will repeat: for the project to be sustainable, these obligations must be implemented by the implementing body,” he said.

He was then asked whether there is a “commitment issue” between the governments of Cyprus and Greece, given that Greek government officials had on Wednesday gone on the record as saying that they were unaware of the “independent and serious organisations” which Keravnos had quoted as having said the project is not sustainable.

It was also pointed out that Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis had on Wednesday called on the Cypriot government to “clarify its position” on the matter, with Letymbiotis then interjecting that “no one is pulling the plug”.

“I am not going to comment on reports or how they are interpreted journalistically. I will repeat what I have said. Contacts with the Greek government are regular, frequent, and based on the timeless honesty which characterises them,” he said.

He was asked whether the Greek government also believes that the project is not progressing because Admie has not fulfilled his obligations, and said, “I cannot answer on behalf of another government”.

Asked what those obligations are, he said that “this is an issue which was discussed during the last major meeting in Cyprus last year”.

It was then pointed out that the Hellenic Republic is a 51 per cent shareholder in Admie, with Letymbiotis responding that “the Greek government may be a shareholder, but it is the implementing body which has its own procedures for making decisions”.

Later on Thursday, Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis made his own statements on the matter, saying that the Greek government has “not received any complaint” from the EPPO regarding the interconnector.

He also sought to smooth over relations with the Cypriot government, saying that Keravnos had “raised reasonable questions about the economic viability of the project”

“This is the dimension we are discussing; its financing and the fair sharing of the cost,” he said, though he did say that “the viability studies to which [Keravnos] referred have not been taken into account”, and adding that “we are receiving ambitious messages about the implementation of the project”.

“Greece is a sovereign state, and it is obvious that we have very close ties with Cyprus. We support the Cypriot positions on major, national issues, as absolutely all-encompassing national positions. The Cypriot positions are also our own national positions. Beyond that, there are issues which have their own implications,” he said.

To this end, he stressed that the Greek government “cannot overlook very important details of a project which do not refer to its geopolitical dimension”.

Otherwise, he said, “it would not be working in the interests of the Greek people”.

“This is the essence of the discussion in this regard,” he said.

Prior to the launching of the EPPO’s investigation, the major stumbling block in the project’s progress was Admie’s request that the Cypriot government pay €25 million to help finance the project, which the Cypriot government is currently withholding.

The Republic of Cyprus had pledged a total of €25m per year over five years until 2029, with those payments to be made before the interconnector is operational, in effect helping finance the project and ensuring that Admie will have a stable income while investing in the project before it turns a profit.

However, disagreements have been raised over the means of making those payments, and over the Cypriot side’s view that adequate progress has not yet been made on the project.

The former matter is related to the fact that Cyprus had initially planned to utilise funds made available to it through the European Union’s emissions trading system (ETS) to make the payments, so as to prevent the burden of the payments from falling on the taxpayer.

Admie had warned that this arrangement may violate the EU’s rules on state aid, and as such asked the Cyprus energy regulatory authority (Cera) to begin charging consumers instead.

Keravnos had earlier made reference to Admie’s demands for the €25m and the issues regarding the sourcing of the money, describing the situation as “a bit of a pseudo-dilemma”.

“Taxpayers’ money will be paid so that consumers do not have to pay, but all taxpayers are also consumers. I do not know anyone who does not use electricity,” he said last month.

Then asked what would have to be different for he and his ministry to change stance on the matter and be more forthcoming with the first payment of €25m demanded by Admie, he said his stance would change “if the project were being implemented right now and were at a good stage”.

He added that seabed surveys to determine where cables we laid “have not even been completed”, and that the completion of those surveys is “decisive for the total cost of the project”.

This version of events had been disputed on Tuesday night by Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, who had said that surveys on the seabed in advance of the laying of electricity cables “did not stop”, but that in fact, “the research was completed according to its planning”.

Asked when work on the interconnector will resume, he said that “this will happen in the near future”, but that “the exact date has not yet been determined”, adding that this is “something that will have to be done in collaboration” with Nexans, the French company which manufactures the cables used in the interconnector.