The project on the list of projects of mutual interest of the EE
The importance of inclusion GREGEYof the Greece-Egypt electricity interconnection, in the list of EE’s projects of mutual interest, underlined the Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhoods, Oliver Varkheli, during the joint press conference he gave with the EE’s high representative Joseph Borel and the head of Egyptian diplomacy in Brussels, following the conclusion of the EU-Egypt Association Council yesterday in Brussels.
Specifically, according to the relevant announcement, the Commissioner stated:
“The future of our cooperation with Egypt in the energy sector, which is, I would say, perhaps with the greatest potential for both of us, because Egypt can become not only a reliable supplier of natural gas, but also a reliable source of renewable energy. And for this reason, we emphasized from our side that the importance of the decision we made to give project of mutual interest status to the GREGY project, essentially the undersea electricity cable between Greece and Egypt. And this regime should create a business opportunity and also more interesting funding opportunities for this project. We consider this project to be the first, if you will, a blueprint, for further projects like the one with Egypt, but also in the wider region. We are involved with Tunisia in investments of this kind, with Georgia, but the potential that Egypt has as a potential supplier of green electricity is difficult to compare. So we are very interested not only to implement this project but also to work on new similar projects”.
Here is the full text:
“I would also like to welcome Minister Shoukry here in Brussels.
As you have already heard the two speakers, we are entering a golden age of EU-Egypt relations. I think Egypt has already proven itself to be our long-term and reliable partner. A reliable and predictable partner in the region, a region that faces many challenges and this relationship also contains many opportunities – opportunities that we have discussed, opportunities that we have agreed to reap and use and enjoy to the fullest. So we think we all agree that Egypt’s role today in the region is not only paramount, it is critical. We are convinced that Egypt’s prosperity, stability and security is Europe’s primary interest, and that is why I am very pleased to see that we are contributing not only to that, but to building together something even more stable. Through our cooperation in recent years, we have laid the foundations of the new phase of our partnership, the deep and comprehensive partnership that we hope to sign very quickly with Egypt.
Now, speaking of today, Minister Shoukry has already mentioned that we have dealt with many issues.
I just want to give you a taste by listing just a few of the titles we’ve gone through.
We discussed the success of our Economic and Investment Plan, which aims to mobilize 9 billion euros in investment, essentially growth and jobs in Egypt in the sectors that are the most critical, food, water, energy for any sustainable economy. We were really proud to see that out of the €9 billion we have indicated, we have already mobilized €5.8 billion in investment in Egypt. I think, if you consider the amount of time that has passed, this is a very good result. We started our work in 2021, and here we are already at the beginning of 2024. Of course, this should encourage us to work even harder to complete all the investments under the Financial and Investment Plan.
Now, it also follows that our economic and investment relations are booming. We see that the upcoming Investment Conference in Egypt, which is expected this semester, will not only provide a unique opportunity to further strengthen our economies, but also that it has generated significant interest in the business community and the private investor community. And this is something we both look forward to with great anticipation.
Because the EU has become a leading investor in Egypt. EU companies have invested 32% of Egypt’s total FDI stock. We are not just present, but I think we provide a significant part of the driving force of the Egyptian economy. And we are also proud to be Egypt’s number one trading partner, carrying out 27% of Egypt’s total trade.
We also discussed energy and the tripartite EU-Egypt-Israel Memorandum of Understanding that has delivered significant quantities of liquefied natural gas to Europe. And this helped Europe to differentiate itself from Russian gas and find new reliable partners in terms of gas supply. So I think this is another success that we have just started working towards and which is already bringing immediate benefits to European citizens as well.
We also discussed the future of our cooperation in the energy sector, which is, I would say, perhaps with the greatest potential for both of us, because Egypt can become not only a reliable supplier of natural gas, but also a reliable source renewable energy. And for this reason, we emphasized on our part the importance of the decision we took to give the project of mutual interest status to the GREGY project, essentially the undersea electricity cable between Greece and Egypt. And this regime should create a business opportunity and also more interesting funding opportunities for this project. We consider this project to be the first, if you will, a blueprint, for further projects like the one with Egypt, but also in the wider region. We participate with Tunisia in investments of this kind, with Georgia, but Egypt’s potential as a potential supplier of green electricity is hard to compare. So we are very interested not only to implement this project but also to work on new similar projects.
We also mentioned immigration, where we work very closely together. We have redoubled our efforts there. And I think all of us should praise the very hard work that Egypt is constantly doing. And this hard work didn’t start yesterday, it has been with us since the Syrian war and Egypt hosts a very large refugee community, something few people talk about. But I hope many more people know about it. So, we want to help here as well. I think what we’re working on, whether it’s border protection, or fighting smugglers, or hosting refugee communities, is important. And we want not only to continue working, but also to increase our support. And so I am also very pleased to see that the first of our biggest investments in border protection, the search and rescue vessels en route from France to Egypt, are already bringing this partnership to the fore and make it very visible to everyone.
So, on that basis, these are just the titles of what we are working on. I think it’s easy to see why we need to take it to the next level.
The next level, which is the privatized relationship between Egypt and the EU, which is a partnership we would like to establish very soon. We hope that next month we will be able to get all the green lights from our member states and proceed with the signature so that we can start the implementation very soon.
Of course, this cooperation will be built on pillars, strong pillars of mutual interest: political relations, economic stability, investment in trade, migration and mobility, security and demography, and human capital, to name only the main areas in which we work. And I want to assure Minister Shoukry that we are here for the long haul. We are here to establish this partnership on a solid foundation and to accompany Egypt in its greatest challenges, because we also need Egypt by our side in our greatest challenges.”
