Cyprus Mail: Political dimensions of the second licensing round

The recent discoveries of natural gas and oil in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cyprus and the wider eastern Mediterranean have changed the energy map and brought forward two issues. Firstly, there is the downgrading of Turkey’s role as a transit hub for hydrocarbons from Russia, the Caspian Sea and the Middle East to the European market, hence the threats against Cyprus. Secondly, the strategic importance of Cyprus has been boosted as a means of transporting natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, reducing its dependence on Russian gas. MORE