Cyprus, Israel, Greece push EU gas pipeline link

NICOSIA - Cyprus says it has joined with Israel and Greece to get the European Union to consider a pipeline that would link the continent with newly found natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean.

A statement yesterday said Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis and his Greek counterpart Yiannis Maniatis pitched the idea to European Commission Energy Union chief Maros Sefcovic.

The officials told Sefcovic in Monday's meeting that the proposed East-Med Corridor would have a capacity of 8-12 billion cubic meters and would link Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy.

They said the pipeline would buttress the EU's energy security because it would pass mostly through bloc member countries.

Maniatis said EU-funded studies would confirm preliminary research on the project's technical feasibility and economic viability.