By emerging as a strategic energy hub, Greece is enhancing energy securityand shaping the new European architecture in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In a period of intense geopolitical upheaval and rearrangement of the energy balance in the Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece is dramatically upgrading its role as a critical energy transmission and interconnection hub, Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou said from the podium of the Global Energy Forum in Washington. He highlighted the strategic importance of infrastructure, international partnerships and new energy routes, noting that the country, together with Cyprus, is becoming a central reference point of the new European energy architecture, with an emphasis on security of supply, source diversification and transatlantic cooperation.
The role of Greece and Cyprus as a strategic hub in the new energy architecture of Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean was highlighted by Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou, speaking at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum in Washington.
The need for energy realism
Mr. Papastavrou linked energy security to national security, stressing the need for energy realism, technological neutrality, strengthening infrastructure and diversification of energy sources and routes.
His intervention focused on the Vertical Corridor, the 3+1 scheme (Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the US), the East Med Gas Forum, electricity interconnections, hydrocarbons, the Greek Presidency of the EU in 2027 and the growing electricity needs created by artificial intelligence.
“We learned this the hard way,” Papastavrou said, referring to the challenges to energy security created by both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the threats associated with the Straits of Hormuz.
He said these crises highlighted the “systemic risk of energy instrumentalisation”, whether it comes from Russia, Iran or any other country. He added that Europe must be united against this phenomenon, as the instrumentalisation of energy affects global and regional security.
The Environment and Energy Minister referred to the concept of energy realism, which he said had been highlighted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an article in the Financial Times and in his interventions at the European Council. He noted that Europe had set a “noble goal” for clean energy, but to a certain extent turned it into a moral issue. As he explained, the hydrocarbon debate was often viewed negatively, while other technologies, such as blue hydrogen, were presented in a much more positive light.
We must be technology neutral
“We must be technology neutral,” he stressed, noting that Europe needs energy and that “energy security is national security.” In this context, he said that Europe must use all the domestic resources at its disposal in order to strengthen its energy independence.
Papastavrou also referred to the debate in Europe on the imposition of a carbon tax on global shipping. He said global shipping is responsible for less than 3% of global emissions, while it carries more than 90% of global trade. “This is not a good starting point,” he said.
According to the minister, European policy now recognises that clean energy targets have not taken sufficient account of economic competitiveness and social cohesion. He clarified that this was not a change of direction, but a “readjustment of speed”.
He noted that, compared to the 2022 crisis, when it took about 12 to 14 months for the EU to realise the need for common action, European reactions are faster today. He said that the energy realism initiated by Prime Minister Mitsotakis has now evolved into a “common sense approach” for the majority of European countries.
Papastavrou placed particular emphasis on the new energy geography of the Eastern Mediterranean, calling it a “new energy geometry”. Greece and Cyprus, he said, are becoming “the focus, the strategic hub of this new geometry.”
The new architecture
Describing this new architecture, he referred to the Vertical Corridor, through which US LNG enters Greece and then, through the infrastructure, is directed to Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. As he noted, after decades in which natural gas moved from East to West, a vertical axis is now being created that connects Greece with the energy security of Eastern Europe and Ukraine.
In the same vein, Papastavrou spoke about the strategic triangle with Israel, which, with the participation of the United States, is acquiring a quadrilateral dimension. He also referred to the East Med Gas Forum’s “circle of cooperation”, stressing that the importance of this framework should not be underestimated.
Of particular interest was his reference to the fact that, the previous day, representatives from Israel and Palestine sat at the same table. “After three years of war, energy is becoming a bridge for the region,” he said, presenting energy not only as a field of competition, but also as a tool for regional cooperation.
The minister included in this new geometry the “diagonal line” of the IMEC corridor, as well as the major electrical interconnection projects. He referred in particular to the Great Sea Interconnector, the electrical interconnection between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, and GREGY, the interconnection between Egypt and Greece. Through these projects, he said, the region is becoming the focus of the new European energy architecture.
At the same time, he noted that more and more countries in the region are realizing that they have more to gain through cooperation than by acting individually. He even referred to the participation of the energy ministers of North Macedonia and Serbia in a recent meeting in Athens, where they expressed interest in an enlarged Vertical Corridor. According to Papastavrou, these new routes are becoming “arteries of trade and prosperity” for the region.
In response to a question about the intended outcomes of the 3+1 ministerial meeting in Houston, Papastavrou said the aim is to give the initiative substantial content. He said that so far the 3+1 has been a very important intergovernmental initiative focused on energy, but now there is an expectation to create something more permanent.
The prospect of cooperation
In this context, he mentioned the prospect of cooperation with the East Med Energy Center of the Baker Institute at Rice University, so that the four countries could have a permanent center for geopolitical cooperation. He said that the Baker Institute is a leading institution in the geopolitics of energy and that this cooperation is of broader significance for Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States.
Papastavrou stressed that both the 3+1 and the East Med Gas Forum are not exclusionary initiatives. On the contrary, he said, “what they exclude is the instrumentalization of energy.” What they include, he added, is a framework for cooperation based on trust, the logic of mutual benefit, respect for common rules and good business practices, without unilateral actions and threats of violence. According to him, this culture of cooperation can bring the Eastern Mediterranean to the forefront of the global energy scene.
Asked about the Greek presidency of the EU in the second half of 2027, Papastavrou refrained from mentioning specific projects, noting that Ireland and Lithuania are ahead. But he outlined the main guidelines, which he said would be energy realism and pragmatism.
The minister pointed out that Europe does not have a true internal energy market, but 27 fragmented markets. Therefore, he said the main objective will be to continue the work Cyprus is doing on the issue of networks, as well as to strengthen the energy infrastructure. He also stressed that countries that have an energy surplus should be willing to share it in order to create a real European market.
In favour of a more pragmatic approach
Papastavrou also advocated a more pragmatic approach to hydrocarbons. He referred to the “Aphrodite” field in Cyprus and the “Neptune” field in Romania. For Greece, he noted that after more than half a century, there is the prospect of exploratory drilling by ExxonMobil in the Ionian Sea and seismic exploration by Chevron south of Crete.
Papastavrou stressed that Europe needs a balanced energy mix, which will not exclude any technology and will be technology neutral. In this context, he also referred to nuclear energy, noting that there are countries that are very advanced in this field, while Europe should follow the progress made by the United States, including small modular reactors, SMRs.
He made a special reference to the energy needs created by artificial intelligence. He said Europe was watching what the United States was bringing to the debate, and referred to US Secretary of State Doug Bergham’s view that the AI race was like the arms race of the 1980s and that whichever side prevailed would determine and control developments. Papastavrou warned that Europe should not put itself in the position of countries that did not participate in the industrial revolution. “For artificial intelligence, we need a lot of energy,” he said.
In conclusion, the environment and energy minister summed up the role of the US in three points, saying it needs “more energy, more interconnections and closer cooperation with the United States.” He said energy is a bridge for transatlantic cooperation, as seen both in the gradual decoupling from Russian natural gas and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
