With Cyprus Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou referring after the end of the critical cabinet meeting on the Greece-Cyprus cable only to the method of subsidizing the costs that ADMIE will recover in the first five years of construction, Athens is awaiting more details on Nicosia’s decisions .
This is reported by information from the Greek side after the end of the statements of the Minister of Energy of Cyprus.
The Greece – Cyprus cable
As can be seen from the statements of Mr. Papanastasiou himself – according to what was reported by the Cypriot media – the cabinet approved the recovery of annual costs of 25 million euros for the first five years of construction of the project starting from 2025 and the costs these will be paid from the Pollutants’ Fund.
However, everything shows that Mr. Papanastasiou made no mention of the other two points of the draft agreement.
The geopolitical risk and the shareholding of Cyprus
As OT had written on Monday, September 16 the other two points of the plan are:
1. For the Republic of Cyprus to become a shareholder in the electrical interconnection Great SeaInterconnector.
Today, the sole shareholder is ADMIE, which is also responsible for the implementation of the project for the Greece – Cyprus cable (Great Sea Interconnector). Based on the agreement, Nicosia will enter the share capital with 100 million euros.
2. That Greece increase the percentage of the geopolitical guarantee for the implementation of the Greece – Cyprus cable project.
According to information, the ratio between the two countries for the provision of a geopolitical guarantee for the security of the project is 50-50 with Greece increasing its relative participation.
According to sources in Athens, these points are not present in the statements of the Cypriot minister.
The Greek side, sources say, expects to see the full text of the cabinet.
The statement of the Cypriot Minister of Energy
In his statement, the Cypriot Minister of Energy Giorgos Papanastasiou emphasized:
“The Council of Ministers approved today a proposal of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry regarding the electrical interconnection of Cyprus – Crete. The project will contribute to the removal of the energy isolation of Cyprus, since it will interconnect the national electricity transmission system with the corresponding trans-European systems and increase the energy security of our country. Achieving this goal is of particular importance for the maintenance and further acceleration in the medium term of economic development and the well-being of the country’s citizens, as the main goal is to reduce the price of electricity through electrical interconnection, the advent of PV and RES.
The importance of the project for both Cyprus and the European Union is confirmed by the fact that the European Commission approved financing from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) with the highest historical amount of €657 million.
The Council of Ministers, during today’s session, approved the allocation of €25 million. per year, strictly, for a period of 5 years as a subsidy of the corresponding increase that may occur in electricity bills for the right to recover costs during the interconnection construction period, i.e. from 1/1/2025 to 31/12/2029, so that consumers not be burdened by this increase. This amount will be disbursed from the fixed fund of the Republic and specifically from the pollutant rights auction system. The first installment of €25m. will be included in a supplementary budget.
Today’s decision of the Council of Ministers is the culmination of many consultations with all the parties involved and the clarifications that have been given, so that the Republic of Cyprus has before it real data regarding the financial, technical and legal aspects of the project.
As a Government, we demonstrated the necessary responsibility and due diligence that should characterize the decision-making regarding projects of such scope, with the sole aim of serving the interests of the Cypriot people to whom we are accountable.
In the immediate future, and on the basis of the road map that has been drawn up, we will be in constant communication with both the Greek side and the European Commission for the further progress of the implementation of the project as well as with parties that have already shown a real interest in participating in the work”.
SOURCE: ot.gr
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