site.btaGreece Is Developing Project Aimed at Bringing Green Electricity from Egypt - EC Honorary Director Giorgos Kremlis

Addressing the three-day Green Transition Forum 4.0: Redefining the CEE Region Global Perspective on Thursday, Honorary Director of the European Commission Giorgos Kremlis said that Greece is developing a very important project to bring green electricity produced by wind and solar in Egypt to Europe.

Kremlis’ address opened day two of the forum, which brought together more than 2,500 participants, including more than 750 executives from 18 countries.

Kremlis focused on the approaches to enhancing Central and Eastern European competitiveness through sustainable green transition and pointed to the connectivity issues in the region, in particular. He said that the concept of territorial cohesion is very important not only for the EU Member States but also for the broader region, noting that "we are confronted by the climate crisis – floods, wildfires, extreme weather phenomena".

In his words, any major infrastructure project will have to be climate resilient and undergo climate proofing under the European Union’s Environmental impact assessment, the strategic environmental assessment directives, and the Espoo Convention which involve all the states in the region. 

In terms of connectivity in the region, Kremlis highlighted the importance of the Vertical Axis, starting from the Aegean and going through Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, and the connection of the Aegean with the Black Sea. He referred to the Three Seas initiative, which has been expanded to include Greece and now connects the Baltic, the Adriatic, the Black Sea, and the Aegean. He noted that 13 countries already participate in the initiative, which he described as vital since many connectivity and infrastructure projects in the energy and transport sectors and military cooperation are developed under it.

He stressed the need for such infrastructure in Eastern Europe, which is lagging behind compared to older EU member states. Kremlis said that it is important to build trans-European networks (TENs) for energy, transport, telecommunications and have new "green, circular TENs". He referred to the circular economy as "an emblematic economic model that we need to promote if we want to save our planet," adding that it is "also a priority of the taxonomy regulation for any green financing".

The European Commission Honorary Director spoke on the topic of Schengen, stressing that although there are no more passport controls at Bulgaria’s airports, the fact that checks at land borders remain poses a problem for connectivity. He said that Greece supports the idea of Schengen being extended to the territorial borders of Bulgaria and Romania and expressed hope that, with the new European institutions, this will become a fact very soon.

Kremlis also focused on an oil pipeline project that connects Alexandroupolis with Burgas. "It is useful for military purposes, and it can be useful for the reconstruction of Ukraine".

He noted that public-private partnerships are crucial as they can be very useful in terms of building motorways, schools, hospitals, etc., adding that it is time to start developing green public procurement.

Kremlis commented on the idea of developing offshore wind, saying that it is "an extremely important source of clean energy". He noted that in order to reach the zero carbon target by 2050, this type of infrastructure should be promoted.