ENERGY: Cyprus hopes negotiations will help resolve EuroAsia Interconnector row

Cyprus said it wants to see differences between Brussels and Athens over an EU-backed projected to end the island’s energy isolation to be resolved quickly so it can be constructed as planned.

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“The issue of EuroAsia Interconnector is not over, negotiations continue, and we are trying to keep it as a European project,” Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou told the Athens News Agency, about the project aiming to link the power grids of Israel, Cyprus and Greece through a subsea cable that passes through Crete.

Prodromou said the project was very important for Cyprus, not only for developing the electricity market but also for the island’s energy security.

“The interconnection will be financed by EU funds and therefore it is feasible. There is a technical problem in decisions in Greece, we hope that a solution will be found which will not impair the ability to construct the project,” he said.

The European Commission has assigned the EuroAsia Interconnector as a Project of Common Interest.

The Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) assigned the construction of the portion of the project linking Crete with Attica to the country’s Transmission System Operator ADMIE, which in turn founded “Ariadne-Interconnection” for this part of the venture – a move not sanctioned by Brussels.

Asked about these developments, Prodromou said that what matters is to design the project in an acceptable manner and solve the difference between the Greek government and the European Commission.