The European Union, Israel and Egypt have signed a tripartite natural gas export deal as the bloc seeks to diversify away from Russian energy.
The deal, finalised on Wednesday at the East Mediterranean regional energy conference in Cairo, will allow “significant” exports of Israeli gas to Europe for the first time, the Israeli energy ministry said.
“What a special moment,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint news conference alongside the Egyptian and Israeli energy ministers. “I very warmly welcome the signing of this historic agreement.”
Von der Leyen said on Twitter that the agreement would contribute to Europe’s energy security.
Last year, the EU imported roughly 40 percent of its gas from Russia. Countries have been struggling to reduce that dependency in order to sanction Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The EU Commission chief stressed that the memorandum of understanding would increase the bloc’s “independence.”
Credit: aljazeera.com
