EU Seeks Energy Security Alternatives  06/18 06:05

   The Iran war's shock to global fuel prices has reinforced Europe's stance 
that it must forge alternative trade and energy routes to the Strait of Hormuz.

   NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- The Iran war's shock to global fuel prices has 
reinforced Europe's stance that it must forge alternative trade and energy 
routes to the Strait of Hormuz.

   Here is a look at what the European Union is contemplating to bolster its 
energy security and minimize the impact of future conflicts as it turns to Gulf 
states and India.

   A corridor to India is one option

   European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed renewed 
interest in what is known as the India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor.

   She told G7 leaders at this week's summit that "alternative export routes 
have been created that are more resilient and offer choices" while "other 
routes will be built -- for example, a typical one is IMEC."

   IMEC is seen as potentially offering the EU greater economic resilience, 
supply-chain diversification and energy security to bolster the bloc's 
strategic autonomy at a time when Russia shows few signs of curbing its 
belligerence and the U.S. chips away at strategic bonds.

   While the EU itself has supported IMEC through a memorandum of 
understanding, only a handful of its 27 member states are formal signatories. 
But behind the scenes, political commitment to IMEC is strong, according to a 
high-ranking EU diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't 
authorized to disclose the contents of confidential discussions.

   "The focus now is on translating that vision into practical implementation 
across its three pillars: transport and trade connectivity, energy connectivity 
and digital connectivity," said the diplomat, who has participated in 
high-level meetings to discuss the initiative. It could involve new pipelines 
and transmission cables, among other infrastructure.

   The EU's press office declined to provide a prospective timeline for the 
project.

   IMEC would pass through Israel and enjoys its support. Israeli Prime 
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year said he had spoken with his Indian 
counterpart Narendra Modi about IMEC, calling it "a very revolutionary and 
transformative development that we want to bring into place."

   Lianne Pollak-David, co-founder of the Israel-based Coalition for Regional 
Security, told a recent online briefing that U.S. leadership would be key to 
moving IMEC forward by helping in the normalization of relations between Israel 
and Saudi Arabia, an essential player in the project.

   "Without normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, IMEC cannot be truly 
realized," she said.

   Saudi Arabia has said it will only normalize relations with Israel if 
accompanied by a clear pathway to Palestinian statehood, something Netanyahu 
opposes.

   It remains unclear how the Iran war, launched by the U.S. and Israel and 
damaging to Gulf Arab countries, may influence Saudi Arabia's thinking.

   Asked about their position regarding IMEC, Saudi officials declined to 
comment.

   Skirting Middle Eastern trouble spots is a goal

   Von der Leyen has said the EU in the first 54 days of the Iran war shelled 
out 25 billion euros ($29 billion) more to import oil and gas while facing the 
risk of a longer-term jet fuel shortage.

   She and European Council President Antonio Costa said during an EU leaders' 
meeting in April that the bloc is "ready to team up with Gulf countries" to 
help set up new energy infrastructure circumventing conflict hot spots like the 
Strait of Hormuz.

   The value of such alternatives is evident in the East-West Pipeline running 
across Saudi Arabia from its eastern oil fields to the Red Sea. After the Iran 
war started, Aramco ramped up transport to the maximum capacity of 7 million 
barrels of oil per day.

   The leaders of G7 nations are discussing ways of financing and building 
infrastructure, "sometimes on the terrestrial part, that will be able to go 
outside of the track of the Strait of Hormuz," French Foreign Ministry 
spokesperson Pascal Confavreux told The Associated Press.

   Neither Von der Leyen nor Costa have provided specifics on EU-backed 
projects, which could also form part of IMEC. But an EU official told the AP 
that the bloc would encourage European companies to invest in renewable energy 
projects in the Gulf to supply the EU's energy demand. The official spoke on 
condition of anonymity because they can't speak about the EU's plans publicly.

   Getting the EU involved with collaborative projects in Gulf countries will 
take time, according to Gabriel Mitchell, an analyst with the German Marshall 
Fund think tank. The most likely projects in the near term are oil and gas 
pipelines, which have the shortest construction timeline, and subsidizing 
repairs at Gulf facilities that Tehran targeted during the war.

   Mitchell said any new projects would need to fall in line with the EU's 
green policies, which means pipelines, for example, would likely be built with 
future "dual-use" capabilities of transporting both gas and possibly hydrogen.

   A transmission line would connect regions

   Another project is the Great Seas Interconnector, an EU-backed electricity 
cable envisioned to stretch 1,208 kilometers (750 miles) to connect the power 
grids of continental Europe with EU member Cyprus and eventually Israel.

   The GSI is bogged down in red tape over its financing, but its potential is 
significant not only for ending the energy isolation of Cyprus and Israel but 
also acting as an energy link to India and likewise forming part of IMEC.

   Gallia Lindenstrauss, senior fellow with the Israel-based Institute for 
National Security Studies, hailed GSI as a "very pragmatic solution for the 
modern energy needs" that paves the way for the transition to green energies.

   "As energy security and grid backup move to the forefront of the global 
agenda, this project provides a flexible platform," Lindenstrauss said.

   The U.S. is helping to foster closer energy ties among Greece, Cyprus and 
Israel as it sees the Eastern Mediterranean as "an increasingly important 
region for global energy development," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright 
said last week.

   Wright was in Houston to inaugurate the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center 
at Rice University that aims to boost cooperation on developing natural gas 
deposits, U.S. liquefied national gas infrastructure and energy transportation 
networks in the European region.