On August 5, at the Greek prime minister’s office, the Maximos Mansion, French infrastructure investor Meridiam acquired 66% of Great Sea Interconnector, the company developing the electricity link between Greece and Cyprus. A parallel agreement with IPTO and Nexans reactivated the seabed surveys required to restart the project.
The transaction changed GSI’s ownership, financing and strategic weight without removing the problem that had already stopped it. In July 2024, Turkish warships challenged the Italian flagged survey vessel Ievoli Relume south of Kasos and Karpathos as it mapped the seabed for GSI. Ankara said the vessel had entered waters it claims as part of its continental shelf. Turkey owns no shares in GSI and has no standing in the project, yet it demonstrated that it could obstruct a precondition for construction.
Athens brought France into the ownership structure after Turkey had entered the execution chain.
The ownership changed. The veto did not.
Meridiam gives France a stake. It does not give Greece a French guarantee.
