Amid a raging war between Russia and Ukraine, the European Union is now turning towards Israel for its natural gas supply needs. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the Kremlin has used our dependency on Russian fossil fuels to blackmail us.
Israel’s Energy Minister Karin Elharar is set to participate tomorrow in Cairo at the 7th ministerial meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF).
According to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, Elharar will meet in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tariq al-Mulla, and European Union Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.
These meetings should serve as preparation for a memorandum of understanding on exporting Israeli natural gas from Egypt to Europe.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met this evening with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was on a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank.
Earlier in the day, she met with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and also delivered a speech at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, where she received an honorary doctorate. Yesterday, von der Leyen met with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Elharar.
The framework agreement was signed by Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla , EU Commission for Energy Kadri Simson and Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar during the ministerial meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in Cairo.
In a joint news conference, Minister El-Molla said that the agreement is an important step to boost the relations EU in the East Mediterranean region between Egypt, Israel, and the EU.
Meanwhile, Minister Elharrar said that Egypt and Israel have committed to exchange natural gas with Europe to help in facing the current energy crisis.
“Egypt and Israel ensure through their partnership better energy security for our European partners,” she said.
Elharrar also explained that the agreement with the EU would continue for three years with an automatic two-year extension.
The draft deal establishes the principles for enhanced cooperation between the three partners but does not say how much gas the EU would import nor set any timelines for deliveries.
The document said shipments would include the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in Egypt, noting the North African country’s plan to become a regional hub for natural gas.
The memorandum of understanding would run for nine years from its signature, the document says, although that part is still in brackets, a sign that there is a higher chance it could be changed than other paragraphs.
The Egyptian government was not immediately available for comment on the draft agreement.
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