DIKO leader calls for Cyprus finance minister’s resignation over Great Sea Interconnector project

DIKO party leader Nikolas Papadopoulos called for the resignation of Cyprus Finance Minister Makis Keravnos over his objections to the Great Sea Interconnector project — an undersea cable intended to connect the electricity grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel.

In an interview with the Politis newspaper, the politician said contradictions remained in the authorities’ position. President Nikos Christodoulides confirmed that the project would go ahead and that Cyprus would pay all outstanding amounts after Greece issued a NAVTEX — a warning to vessels about upcoming seabed surveys between Crete and Cyprus. Papadopoulos described the promise to transfer €25 million to Athens immediately after the NAVTEX was issued as “an absolutely correct position”.

“On the one hand, the finance minister demonises the project at every opportunity, but at the same time he does not refer to any studies or data supporting his position,” Papadopoulos said. “If the finance minister disagrees with this project so strongly, why does he not resign?”

Keravnos is the government’s most consistent critic of the cable. At the beginning of September, he warned that the project could cost significantly more than the €1.9 billion budgeted and questioned whether it would reduce electricity prices. Earlier, the minister accused his Greek counterpart, Stavros Papastavrou, of spreading fake news and said that studies supporting his position had been sent to the Greek Ministry of Energy.

Cyprus Energy Minister Michael Damianos also voiced doubts, saying that the connection with Crete would provide the island with significant amounts of electricity, but that the price could also rise. The European Commission responded that the development of electricity interconnections lowers prices by integrating a greater volume of renewable energy into the system.

Papadopoulos himself is convinced that the cable will “strengthen us geopolitically, ensure electricity sufficiency and lower prices”. Keravnos, meanwhile, has been a longtime member of DIKO: he served as labour minister and then finance minister in the government of Tassos Papadopoulos, the current party leader’s father.