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Egypt, Israel, EU Sign Gas Agreement in Cairo

The energy ministers of Egypt, Israel, and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding to export Israeli gas to Europe, at a ceremony in Cairo on Wednesday. The gas will be transferred via an existing pipeline from Israel to Egypt, where it will be liquified for export to Europe. The EU is looking for new energy sources in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The agreement includes attention to environmental concerns, including cooperation on carbon capture, the reduction of carbon emissions, and energy efficiency initiatives.

The signing is “a great moment in which little Israel becomes a significant player in the global energy market,” said Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar. “The MOU will allow Israel to export natural gas to Europe for the first time, and that is even more impressive when considering the significant agreements we have signed in the past year, making Israel and its energy and water market a key player in the world,” she said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was present at the signing, met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday in Jerusalem, where she told him, “The EU was the biggest, most important client of the Russian supplier – for oil, gas, and coal, but with the beginning of this war and the attempt of Russia to blackmail us through energy, by deliberately cutting off the energy supplies, we decided to cut off and to get rid of the dependency on Russian fossil fuels and to move away from Russia and diversify to trustworthy suppliers.”

Europe previously imported more than 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Russia annually. Now it is expected to partially replace this with the import of around 20 bcm from the Eastern Mediterranean – mainly from Israel – as well as 15 to 20 bcm from the United States and 20 to 30 bcm from Qatar.