Green Aegean, a electricity supply corridor envisaged, by Athens, to run from Greece to Germany’s south, dominated talks between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin yesterday, sources close to the Greek leader have informed.

Mitsotakis, determined to promote this project, prioritized Green Aegean over the European migrant crisis and the Middle East conflict at yesterday’s meeting.

The German side, no longer appearing worried about the Greek economy, was keen to listen to the Greek leader’s views on the south-north corridor, but, despite agreeing with Mitsotakis on most points raised, refrained from expressing any clear position, either because of other priorities or because Berlin remains unconvinced about the project’s financial sustainability.

Mitsotakis presented Green Aegean as an important plan for both countries, noting Germany’s energy needs are high in winter, and have become even more acute ever since low-cost Russian gas supply stopped flowing as a consequence of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, while energy demand in Greece is high during the summer.

Berlin is well aware of the fact that additional green-energy sources will be needed, beyond large-scale offshore wind farms in the North Sea, if German industry is to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

For its part, Athens knows very well that problems will arise in the future if RES output does not reach central Europe. Greek RES output is already many times over the country’s needs and grid capacity. Also, green energy the country aspires to import from Egypt and the Middle East will require a new electricity corridor to Europe’s north. Without such an export corridor, north African and Middle Eastern producers will surely look elsewhere for pathways to Europe.