The leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and France have agreed to restart the Great Sea Interconnector, the underwater electricit...

The leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and France have agreed to restart the Great Sea Interconnector, the underwater electricity cable that would link Cyprus to the European grid for the first time. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nikos Christodoulidis, and Emmanuel Macron held phone consultations in recent days and reached a consensus on the next steps, according to Cypriot outlet Fileleftheros. The three leaders agreed that a new NAVTEX notice must be issued by Greek authorities to reserve the sea area between Crete and Cyprus for fresh seabed surveys. Those surveys are needed to complete depth measurements and finalize the cable's exact route, connecting Kofinou in Cyprus to Korakia in Crete. The Greek grid operator ADMIHE says 60% of the surveys are already done, but the remaining section is the hardest, both technically and politically. Turkey claims the seabed south of Kasos falls within its continental shelf, a boundary it drew unilaterally through its 2019 memorandum with the Libyan government. That disputed zone is precisely where the remaining surveys must be conducted. French firm Meridiam, which took a 66% majority stake in the GSI project company on August 5, now leads the ownership side of the cable. French manufacturer Nexans holds the construction and laying contract. Sources say it is likely that an Italian survey company previously used by Nexans will be replaced by a French firm or consortium, creating a fully French consortium across every major element of the project. Sources cited by Fileleftheros note a clear geopolitical dimension to France's consolidation of the project. When Greek authorities issue the NAVTEX, it will be apparent that it serves French economic and geopolitical interests backed by French government support, not just those of a Greek state-owned company. Separately, ADMIHE filed documents last week with Cypriot and Israeli regulators to advance the Cyprus-Israel segment of the cable, a 324-kilometer, 1,000 MW link at depths of 2,200 to 2,400 meters connecting Kofinou to Hadera in Israel. #GreatSeaInterconnector #EnergyGeopolitics #Cyprus