86117 - Transcription: East Med pipeline to be implemented

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Athina Kehagias

When we are discussing the East Med pipeline it is very important to comprehend that it is a project whose implementation is feasible within three years. If we think of it in this manner, we firstly understand that all the discussions that are going on and delaying the project, simply postpone its implementation to a future date, and we basically ought to understand that since this project was already a PCI since 2012 and we are now in 2023, it could have been utilized years ago and we could have been taking advantage of it at this point of time, instead of just assuming it to be a very important weapon in order to move forward into the future. In actual fact we delayed it, simply for bureaucratic reasons, the issue of whether it is feasible or not has already been decided and we know that it is feasible, effective and necessary, ever since it was a PCI we discovered new reserves in Cyprus, we’ve advanced the research in Greece and because the same occurred in Italy, we understand that the East Med pipeline which connects Israel, Cyprus and Greece, but then on Italy as well, it’s very important, because it actively enhances Greece’s alliance with Italy and then with the European Union in general. It means therefore, that if we keep in mind that the implementation can occur within three years, then things are completely different, we are not talking about a project which is inconceivable, on the contrary we are talking about a project which is necessary, one which we will see implemented and then we will assume that it is perfectly reasonable that it happened and of course we will have forgotten all the sacrifices, all the ongoing efforts for more than a decade in order for a three year project to be implemented.