Israel’s emergence as a global energy player is at its peak. New deals emerge regularly, turning Israel into a wild card on the energy issue in Europe as well, at a time when the energy crisis is at the top of the agenda.
Israel and Morocco do not stop creating trade agreements for cooperation in different fields. As happened earlier this year, the North African country and Israel have once again signed an agreement in which they say they are ready to make their nuclear technology available after the normalization of relations with the Jewish state, the Commission’s director-general announced on Wednesday Israel Atomic Energy Agency (IAEC), Moshe Edri.
The main objective of these agreements is the energy boost of both nations in areas such as the development of rechargeable batteries, recycling, solar energy, the hydrogen economy and one of the most important challenges for the Kingdom, such as the storage and transportation of energy of resources in neighboring countries such as Spain.
Saying it is “ready” to share its nuclear technology, Israel intends to further strengthen the various cooperation agreements it has signed with Arab countries since they decided to restore relations after the Abraham Accords.
This new cooperation will be under the auspices of the IAEA. These conditions have not pleased Iran, which views with suspicion the movements between the different nations that are part of them.
Europe in search of alternative energy solutions
Europe is looking for alternative energy solutions in the wake of the current international situation. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has made it clear that EU countries cannot depend on Russia for their energy supplies, and renewable energy is one of their main goals to solve the lack of energy resources.
Green hydrogen could be a great alternative to decarbonize European industries, and Morocco has already been involved in the production of this resource for some time. It is a renewable energy produced from clean electricity, taken from solar or wind energy and subjected to a process of electrolysis to create it. As a result, it becomes an endless source of energy.
European ministers attending the summit stressed that the Alawi kingdom is key to supplying the European Union with this resource and, thanks to its assets, could be the main supplier.
Deepening relations between Israel – a strategic ally of Europe – and the North African Kingdom open up new opportunities to smooth the energy crisis plaguing the Old Continent, as Winter makes the need for short-term energy supply solutions all the more urgent. of the European Union.
Europe and the EastMed natural gas pipeline
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could prove to be a game-changer for the development of gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, as Egypt and Israel have emerged as strategic energy players over the past decade, with the former a hub and the latter conducting regular contacts in the sector and close agreements that either directly or with collateral benefits can be exploited by Europe.
With bated breath, the whole of Europe has been following the developments in the last 24 hours with the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, in which three leaks were detected within a few hours.
These developments (for more information read the analysis entitled “Nord Stream: The Beneficiaries of the Sabotage and the “Suspects“), make the need for energy diversification in Europe more urgent than ever and the immediate search/finding of alternative energy sources, with EastMed once again coming to the fore and gaining ground in the EU energy autonomy marathon.
EastMed is a €6 billion undersea pipeline designed to supply natural gas to Europe from the eastern Mediterranean via Israel, Greece and Cyprus. According to the plans, the pipeline will have a length of about 2,000 km, of which more than 1,400 are undersea.
It is going to connect Israel, Cyprus and Greece, ending in Italy. In Greek territory, it is going to pass through Crete and the South-East Peloponnese, where it will then cross for about 600 km the Greek mainland to reach Italy through the underwater part of the POSEIDON pipeline, which is about 210 km long.
The dilemma is clear: Energy autonomy or precision, degradation of European societies and a domino effect on industries, households, supply chains and food security. It is wise, then, to say that EastMed’s prospects are clearing the fog in the brains of decision-makers.
These developments come at a time when Europe’s need for new energy sources is peaking. Israel, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece could help Europe, as could North African and East African states, if the required infrastructure to extract and transport natural gas was in place.
There are also national security implications of these changes. For example, when Iran supports Hezbollah that threatens Israel’s natural gas sources, it undermines the well-being of Europe and not just Israel. However, these Hezbollah actions against Israel still exist.
