EastMed pipeline deal signals continuity, extroversion

The strategic dimension of the EastMed pipeline agreement signed on Thursday in Athens is undisputed and has been stressed by champions and critics of the construction project alike. However, the project also entails two elements that are important to Greece - political continuity and broader business opportunities - and should serve as a paradigm.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had asked that the official signing ceremony between Greece, Cyprus and Israel also be attended by Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis' predecessors Yiannis Maniatis, Panos Skourletis and Giorgos Stathakis, in recognition of their role in making the project happen.

When Maniatis was minister in 2013 and insisted on the benefits of the project, his arguments had been dismissed as utopian. Now, seven years later - not to mention several ministers and governments later - the EastMed pipeline...