European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen has reiterated the European Union’s support for the Great Sea Interconnector, which, if completed, will link the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel, while warning against plans put forward for a separate interconnector to link the energy grids of Cyprus and Turkey via the north.

“The EU remains committed to defending its interests and those of its member states, as well as to upholding regional stability. The EU also remains fully committed to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue within the United Nations framework,” he said in a statement published Monday.

He pointed out that last year, the European Commission had “expressed concerns about the … electricity interconnection project between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community” in its annual report on Turkey.

Additionally, he said, the European network of transmission system operators for electricity (Entso-E) has not included plans for a cable linking Turkey and Cyprus in its ten-year development plan.

To this end, he said that the commission “is not aware of any contacts” between Entso-E and Turkey’s transmission system operator, Teias, “on the potential project”, but that it will “continue to pay highest attention to the matter”.

He added that “in the context of the observer membership agreement [it has] with Entso-E, Teias committed to ensure cooperation with all European transmission system operators at pan-European, regional and bilateral levels”.

“The fulfilment of this requirement entails that the process of developing any type of interconnection is done with the consent of the transmission system operator certified for Cyprus under EU law,” he said.

He then added that plans for a cable linking Turkey and Cyprus “do not have project of mutual interest status and cannot benefit from EU funding”.

Instead, he said, “the commission supports the development of an electricity interconnection between Greece and the island of Cyprus with the Great Sea Interconnector”, which, he said, “has been awarded the status [of] project of common interest and a €657 million grant”.

His comments come after Entso-E last month rejected suggestions that it may include plans for a cable to link Cyprus and Turkey into its continent-wide ten-year development plan, saying that the Great Sea Interconnector “is the only interconnector project connecting the Republic of Cyprus” in its plans.

Turkish Cypriot ‘energy minister’ Olgun Amcaoglu announced last summer that the feasibility study for a 95-kilometre two-way interconnector cable connecting Cyprus and Turkey had been completed, and that applications had been filed to Entso-E.

“We are proposing that we build a 95-kilometre, two-way 400 megawatt – thus totalling 800 megawatt – project, which will be integrated into the Entso-E system, including the Republic of Turkey. This would automatically connect the north and south [of Cyprus], which are already interconnected,” he told Kibris TV.

He added that such a cable would only cost US$450 million (€382m) – less than a quarter of the forecast cost of the Great Sea Interconnector – while its operating costs would also be far lower.

Of the Great Sea Interconnector, Jorgensen had previously said that the commission will provide “strong political and technical support” for the interconnector, with this support set to include “dedicated events and high-level discussions, as well as additional engagement on geopolitical issues”.