Greek PM promotes benefits of TAP gas pipeline

Earlier this week, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras hailed a decision to build a pipeline that will bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe via Greece. Samaras said that the investment will create thousands of new jobs, place the country on the regional energy map and reverse recent negative views on Greece

Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)
The TAP project aims to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to Italy and Western Europe. The project will open a new Southern Gas Corridor to Europe and establish a new market outlet for natural gas from the Caspian.

TAP Managing Director Kjetil Tungland said, “This is the first and important step in opening up the Southern Gas Corridor and, as we look ahead, it will have a major role to play in Europe’s energy security and ensuring the diversification of gas supplies to Western and South European markets.”

Reversing recent negative views
In a recent statement released from Brussels, Samaras said, “After the announcement of the TAP project, the catastrophic scenarios or Greece and its exit from the euro are put to rest.” He added, “Who would invest that amount of money in a country that is economically, socially and politically dangerous?”

This month, Greece failed to attract a single bid for the privatisation of its natural gas company Depa, a major setback for Greece’s anticipated privatisation proceeds. The Depa deal opened up a potential US$ 1 billion hole in Greece’s privatisation revenue target for the current year.

Research Director of the Institute of International Relations at Panteion University in Athens, Konstantinos Filis, said “The project puts Greece back on the global energy map…It changes the picture of the country, which seemed to be in systematic danger – especially after the Depa failure.” He added that the TAP “could be the beginning of a positive news flow for the country.”

Positive economic development
According to Samaras, the TAP is “the most significant positive economic development regarding out country in the past 10 years.”

The Prime Minister, who has made energy a key pillar in Greece’s recovery effort, hopes that the project will boost the country’s recession-ravished economy. In early May, Samaras traveled to Azerbaijan in a bid to help clinch the deal, along with other potential bilateral projects.

Edited from various sources by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

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