Energy policy of the United States

The European Investment Bank Group signed a new contract with the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy this week for technical assistance from the bank's Advisory Hub which will help facilitate crucial investments to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy investments on the country's smaller and remote islands.

Expert Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former Pentagon official, joins Thanos Davelis to break down why Biden administration officials like Amos Hochstein, who are encouraging Iraqi Kurds to sell oil to Turkey, are doing not only Iraq, but Iraqi Kurds and US interests from the Middle East to the Eastern Mediterranean a disservice.

Turkey's energy regulator EPDK has announced new measures for natural gas and electricity bills for the next three months amid the coronavirus break.

Ambassador Richard Morningstar, the founding director and chairman of the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council, notes that Greece can play a role in promoting as well as benefit from a transparent and competitive energy market in Europe.

The amount of oil smuggled into Turkey from areas of Syria controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is economically insignificant, the United States said on Dec. 4, after Moscow accused Ankara of profiting from the trade.

The U.S. has adjusted its policy in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), turning its focus on targets, including energy infrastructure facilities, that are more difficult to replace, U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein has said. 

Bulgaria's government is to issue guarantees worth BGN 215 M (EUR 109 M) for the Interconnector Greece-Bulgarai (IGB) project in 2016, the cabinet's press office has said.

The decision, announced at a Wednesday cabinet meeting, has turned IGB into the single state-guaranteed investment project for which the government will secure funding by taking out more loans.

Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic has met with U.S. State Department's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein.

The two officials discussed the cooperation between Serbia and the U.S. in the energy sector, diversification of energy supply and sources, and improvement of Serbia's energy security, the Ministry said.

The advancement in the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor - the interconnecting pipe between Bulgaria, Greece and other neighboring countries are among the main topics of discussion between US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev.

Special Envoy to the US Foreign Secretary John Kery, Amos Hochstein will be arriving in Bulgaria Wednesday.

During his visit in Sofia, Hochstein will be received by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov.