Statement by Stefanos Stephanou, AKEL C.C. Press Spokesperson
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 26th October 2016, Nicosia
The reference in the European Parliament’s report for the need to support the utilization of the reserves in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the creation of a terminal for liquefying natural gas (LNG) in Cyprus, demonstrates once again the opportunities we have lost and continue to lose to turn Cyprus into an energy hub for the natural gas of the whole region.
It is such references that we could have made use of had the government not cancelled the comprehensive energy planning it had inherited from the previous government, had it not wasted nearly four years without any substantial activity in the Cypriot EEZ and had the government not annulled every option for utilizing Cypriot natural gas in cooperation with neighboring countries.
The report also shows that the reserves in the Cypriot EEZ could have been better dealt with by the EU. This however presupposes that there is an overall strategy and policy and that you are assertive with regards your country’s interests.
Unfortunately, the government has neither the one, nor the other.
