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France is taking a larger role in the Great Sea Interconnector, strengthening Greece\u2019s position as Athens prepares for renewed seabed surveys for the electricity cable linking Greece, Cyprus and Israel.<\/strong><\/p>\n The growing French involvement could also give Paris a more direct role in managing Turkey\u2019s objections to the project, including potentially confronting Ankara if tensions escalate.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the project during their meeting in Paris on September 9, on the sidelines of the International Space Summit.<\/p>\n According to Greek officials, Macron committed to ensuring that the research vessel carrying out seabed surveys on behalf of French cable manufacturer Nexans will sail under the French flag<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The move is significant because France would also undertake to notify Turkey and other coastal states about the planned seabed surveys and subsequent cable-laying operations.<\/p>\n The Great Sea Interconnector faces a major geopolitical obstacle in the Eastern Mediterranean, with Turkey disputing the authority to license activities in waters between the Greek islands and Cyprus.<\/p>\n Ankara maintains that Greek islands should not automatically generate continental shelf or exclusive economic zone rights.<\/p>\n Greece strongly rejects that position and maintains that its islands have full rights under international law.<\/p>\n The dispute has previously affected the interconnector directly.<\/p>\n In 2024, Turkish warships were deployed in the area, leading to the cancellation of seabed surveys by an Italian-flagged vessel working for Nexans east of the Greek islands of Kassos and Karpathos.<\/p>\n The latest plans therefore carry a potentially important change: the vessel conducting the new surveys will operate under the French flag.<\/strong><\/p>\n France\u2019s involvement has also grown financially.<\/p>\n French investment group Meridiam recently acquired a 66% stake in the Great Sea Interconnector<\/strong>, significantly increasing French participation in the project.<\/p>\n The interconnector was initially estimated to cost around \u20ac1.9 billion<\/strong>, although its final cost could approach \u20ac3 billion following delays and rising expenses.<\/p>\n The European Union has committed \u20ac657 million<\/strong> to the project, which it has designated a Project of Common Interest.<\/p>\n The cable is designed to connect the electricity grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel<\/strong>, ending Cyprus\u2019 status as the only EU member state without an electricity interconnection with the European grid.<\/p>\n After years of delays, seabed surveys are expected to resume between late September and early November<\/strong>.<\/p>\n France is expected to issue a diplomatic communication informing the relevant coastal states before the surveys begin.<\/p>\n Greece will also issue a navigational warning through the NAVTEX system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Athens has made clear that it will not seek Turkey\u2019s permission to conduct the surveys.<\/p>\n That position could set the stage for another confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean, but this time with a significantly greater French presence surrounding the project.<\/p>\n For Greece, the growing French role provides both financial backing and a powerful European partner as the country seeks to advance a major energy infrastructure project through waters at the centre of a long-running Greek-Turkish maritime dispute.<\/p>\nTurkey objects to the project<\/h2>\n
French investment increases<\/h2>\n
Surveys expected soon<\/h2>\n