EU Looks to Egypt for Gas Supply, Signs MoU

/ Policy & Regulations / Thursday, 16 June 2022 13:31

Egypt and Israel may start exporting gas to Europe under a MoU signed by the European Commission president during a Cairo visit as the bloc looks to cut off from Russian gas, as per AFP.

"Russia's war against Ukraine has exposed our European dependency on Russian fossil fuels, and we want to get rid of this dependency," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said during a a joint press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"We want to diversify to trustworthy suppliers, and Egypt is a trustworthy partner."

She had vowed during a visit to Israel, to confront Russia for its use of fossil fuels to "blackmail" European countries.

The memorandum of understanding on gas exports between Egypt, Israel and the EU was signed at the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, the Egyptian petroleum ministry said.

Under a landmark $15 billion deal in 2020, Israel already exports gas from an offshore field to Egypt, where it is liquefied and shipped to European countries. But a significant increase in gas exports from Israel via Egypt would require major long-term infrastructure investments.

Von der Leyen also said Egypt had sun and wind power, "the energies of the future", in abundance, and that the EU and Egypt jointly exploring them was in "our common interest".

"This is a big step forward in the energy supply to Europe, but also for Egypt to become a regional energy hub," she said in Cairo. Egypt will host the UN COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in November.

EU has also pledged relief worth 100 million euros ($104 million) for food security in Egypt, which has been reeling from grain shortages as a result of the Ukraine war.

Latest Issue

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.