The Greece–Cyprus electricity interconnector (Great Sea Interconnector, GSI) was one of the issues at the centre of an event titled “Geopolitical challenges in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean”, co-organised by Nikolas Farantouris, an MEP for PASOK and the European Socialists, and the “Alexandros Papanastasiou” Institute on Friday afternoon (13/11) at the European Parliament’s offices in Athens.
Among the issues discussed were the French note verbale to Ankara and the prospect of renewed Turkish pressure when the cable is laid.
The French note verbale
“I am not happy with the disclosure made by the French,” said Angelos Syrigos, a New Democracy MP for Athens A and professor of International Law and Foreign Policy at Panteion University. He added, however, that the issue needed to be put into proper perspective.
“Greece has not authorised anyone to speak on its behalf. So, whatever the French say, it does not bind us,” he stressed.
He said he had not seen the exact wording of the note verbale, but was certain the French had not asked Turkey for permission. Had they done so, he said, Athens would already have seen it.
“I am almost certain the French would never have told Turkey that they consider these areas to belong to Turkey. Nor would they have told Turkey that they were asking for permission. They have asked permission only from us,” he added.
From bathymetric surveys to cable-laying
Mr Syrigos said Ankara was the party that had backed down over the cable. “If you want to see who has really backed down at this stage — and I choose my words carefully — it is Turkey,” he said.
The New Democracy MP argued that Turkey is now being forced to accept the continuation of the surveys and is following the approach it has long used on similar projects in the eastern Aegean, such as the laying of other cables. As he explained, Turkey sends a frigate to a distance, where it transmits a routine radio message saying, “You are in an area of Turkey’s continental shelf; leave,” while work on the ground continues as normal.
Mr Syrigos said the bathymetric surveys were only the first phase of the process and predicted that Ankara’s stance would be tested again when the cable is laid. “The second phase will begin when the cable is laid, and I believe we will experience a second round of these events,” he said.
He added that it would become clear at the end of the process whether the cable had been laid, and identified two things at stake. The first concerns Greece’s sovereign rights. The second, in his view, is Turkey’s attempt to prevent the laying of cables that would connect Greece electrically with other regions.
As he explained, Turkey sees the future of electricity as lying in cables that will carry power generated from renewable sources in the Sahara and the Middle East to regions that need it.
According to Mr Syrigos, Greece, Italy and Spain are the only countries in Europe with this geographical advantage. He said Turkey was seeking to undermine precisely this advantage for Greece. “So what is at stake is both our sovereign rights and our strategic ability to become a central electricity hub for Europe,” he stressed.
The question of the precedent set by the note
Dimitris Mantzos, an MP elected on the State list and PASOK’s parliamentary spokesman, also commented on the French note verbale to Ankara.
“There is a note verbale. The questions are specific: was it issued on our behalf as well?” the PASOK parliamentary spokesman asked, among other things. He argued that “the legal question will be decided when the time comes by those who should decide it — the judges of the competent court. Only then will we know whether it set a legal precedent.”
“But I fear the political precedent has already been set. Because it creates the impression that, for any project, Turkey will have to be informed each time through a note verbale or some other means of our country’s involvement, whether Greece itself proceeds or acts through a representative,” he added.
Extending the interconnector to Israel
Giannis Pavlopoulos, a retired vice admiral and former chief of the Fleet, called the electricity cable that will reach Cyprus and then continue to Israel vital. “And do you know why it will continue to Israel? Because Israel is thirsty for electricity, as it builds a desalination plant every year. Desalination plants consume a lot of energy,” he explained.
“So the cable project will go ahead without us militarising the crisis,” he said. He added that Israel was urging Greece to exercise its sovereign rights in the areas under its jurisdiction and, together with Cyprus, help bring Israel closer to Europe.
Europe’s response and the mutual assistance clause
On the broader question of how Europe would respond in the event of an escalation, Nikolas Farantouris reiterated that Athens should formally raise the issue of the mutual defence assistance clause with its partners.
Explaining his position, Mr Farantouris said he believed it was clear that, unfortunately, major steps towards European integration had been taken only after major acts of brinkmanship.
“Shall we remember Thatcher? Shall we remember Cyprus joining the European Union? Greece effectively forced the enlargement by securing Cyprus’s entry while the Cyprus issue remained unresolved. That is what it did. And Cyprus joined the European Union with the Cyprus issue unresolved because Greece used its leverage to secure the entry of the other eastern member states at a critical time for stability in Europe and Eastern Europe, after the fall of the Wall and the upheavals on the global stage,” he said.
“So today it is time to remember again that we cannot remain silent, because other forms of pressure, large and small, are unfolding before our eyes. Chancellor Merz said within 48 hours: ‘The 2027 budget will not be approved unless funds are allocated for Ukraine. Fine, goodbye!’ The budget was finalised at 5.30 in the evening. It was finalised through an act of pressure, large or small,” Mr Farantouris added.
“A great deal of diplomatic, political and economic capital has been spent on all these ideas — perhaps utopian or idealistic — about Europe’s military autonomy. But a great deal of political capital has been spent, in any case. I think the 27 member states have a lot to lose if Greece comes to the negotiating table and says, ‘I will blow everything up if you do not recognise the threats against me. Full stop.’ I do not see how Europe can move forward united when the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of one EU country are now being directly threatened. That simply cannot happen!” the PASOK MEP stressed.
“When I talk about the mutual defence assistance clause, I am under no illusion that immediate defence assistance would be available if needed. But if you tell your partners, ‘I will press the button on the mutual assistance clause, which is binding,’ that will show whether, before it is pressed, you are all willing to pick up the phone and say: ‘We do not have the money, we do not have a customs union, we do not have development assistance, we do not have all the other benefits enjoyed by a third country’ — one that, unfortunately, threatens two member states,” Mr Farantouris explained.