Maniatis participates in Energy and Economic Summit
Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis attended the Energy and Economic Summit, organised during the last three days by the "Atlantic Council" think tank in Istanbul, and presented Greece's positions on the energy developments in the EU, the Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Maniatis met with his Turkish counterpart Taner Yildiz and presented Greece's stance on the issue of the Cyprus EEZ.
During the summit, the minister participated in two ministerial meetings. In the first one, which was on funding energy investments, Maniatis underlined the significance of regional cooperation and the EU funding of facilities that are crucial for the continent's energy security. He noted that Greece was giving priority to three energy projects for the transport of natural gas: first, the Southern Corridor and the construction of the TAP, second, the construction of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria pipeline and third, the construction of the East Med pipeline.
The second ministerial meeting related to the European integration in energy. Maniatis mentioned the need to create a common market and complement the interconnector pipelines between EU countries and elaborated on the initiative to create a vertical gas transport axis that would link Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. This initiative was further discussed in bilateral meetings that Maniatis had with the Bulgarian Deputy Energy Minister Anton Pavlov, the Romanian Energy Minister Razvan Nicolescu and the Hungarian Energy Minister Andras Aradszki. All officials expressed the support of their countries to this project and agreed to coordinate the four countries' actions to speed up procedures.
Maniatis also met with US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and acting special envoy for energy issues Amos Hochstein, who also stressed the importance of creating a vertical corridor. In particular, in his discussion with Hochstein he referred to the emerging prospects and opportunities offered by Greece as a transit hub, through a series of realistic projects that can be implemented and for which Greece has a strategy and implementation scenarios.
During his meeting with Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, Maniatis explained the Greek positions on the issue of Cyprus EEZ, expressing the hope the Supreme Cooperation Council to be held between the two countries in early December will help defuse tension within the framework of international legality. Maniatis also met with the BP Vice President for the Southern Corridor Joe Murphy. The two officials acknowledged the good progress in the construction of the Southern Corridor and, with regard to Greece, the TAP pipeline.
Maniatis also met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with whom he exchanged views on environmental issues. They also discussed the sacrifices of the Greek people in recent years as well as specific actions and initiatives taken by the ministry to relieve vulnerable citizens.
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