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IEA says oil and gas companies must embrace clean energy
As government and industry leaders gathered during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos on January 21, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said...
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Several European nations will introduce a digital tax if no OECD deal is reached
France, Italy, and Spain have said they would move ahead with their national digital tax if no international deal on digital taxation is reached...
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At Davos, IEA says oil and gas companies must embrace clean energy
As government and industry leaders gathered during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos on January 21, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said...
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Power cuts in France amid pension reform strike
Energy workers temporarily halted power generation at France’s biggest hydro-electricity plant in protest against president Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension reform.
The power cut lasted 90...
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Macron, Trump agree to hold off on a potential tariffs war
French president Emmanuel Macron said he had a “great discussion” with US president Donald Trump over France's planned digital tax.
“They agreed to give a...
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France, UK reaffirm commitment to Iran nuclear deal
UK prime minister Boris Johnson and French president Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran nuclear during a meeting on the sidelines of...
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French far-right leader Le Pen to run for president in 2022 election
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen announced she would run for president in the 2022 presidential election, when current president Emanuel Macron’s five-year term...
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East Med Gas Forum makes Cairo HQ
Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestinian Authority signed in Cairo on 16 January the East Med Gas Forum (EMGF) foundation charter, creating...
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MEPs want global CO2 binding targets to save biodiversity
Members of the European Parliament want the upcoming global biodiversity conference COP 15 to agree on legally binding targets, as was the case for...
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UK, France, Germany pull diplomatic trigger on Iran deal dispute
Nearly a week after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing everyone on board, France, Germany and the UK...
Africa
France and Sahel partners step up jihadist fight
France and Africa's Sahel countries have agreed to step up military cooperation to fight the jihadist presence in the region.
The G5 Sahel framework for...
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France offers compromise to end strike
Amidst nationwide strikes over a proposed pension reform that have been going on for more than a month, the French government offered a major...
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France hit by new mass protests
More than 400,000 protesters took to the streets across France on 9 January, in the longest transport strike in the country’s history. Workers reject...
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Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, France call Turkey-Libya deals "void"
Greece, Cyprus, France and Egypt condemned on Wednesday the two agreements signed between Turkey and Libya on maritime boundaries and military cooperation, calling them...
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Foreign Ministers of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Italy to meet in Cairo
The Foreign Ministers of Greece, Cyprus, France and Italy travelled to Cairo on Wednesday morning to participate in a five-sided meeting along with the...
Afghanistan
Iran’s top commander Soleimani killed in US drone strike
Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force and the mastermind behind the Islamic Republic’s military and foreign policy in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,...
Albania
Greece’s Balkan diplomacy currently a sideshow
While keeping up the appearances of an active diplomatic campaign in Southeast Europe, the net impact of Athens’ recent initiatives will yield next to...
Albania
Zaev-Mitsotakis Thessaloniki meeting explores EU Enlargement delays
The prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia met on the sidelines of the Thessaloniki 2019 Summit on November 14. This was their second...
Albania
Brussels casts Zaev a thin lifeline
Brussels cast a thin Italian-flavoured political lifeline to North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev over the last ten days, something sorely needed after Zaev...
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Zaev fumbles after EU Enlargement let-down
North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev fumbled badly this week when discussing the relationship between his country’s now-frozen EU accession bid and the standing...
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Resumption of peace talks may pause Turkish drilling in Cyprus EEZ
Incoming new EU Commission may be keener on negotiations to resolve regional East Med problemsLIMASSOL, Cyprus – The possible resumption of the dormant peace...
Albania
France unyielding on EU Enlargement, elections triggered in North Macedonia
The scenario that emerged late last week with multiple reports that France would oppose immediate decisions on EU Enlargement has come to pass.
EU European...
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Meeting Erdogan at UN, Mitsotakis eyes calmer waters
The meeting between Greece's newly elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General...
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Russia fuels global gas race with Arctic LNG-2 project
Competing in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) race, Russia’s largest independent gas producer, Novatek, France’s Total and the other project shareholders have approved...
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Don’t slow the flow: EU wants no snag in Russian gas via Ukraine
As Nord Stream-2 builders are planning to finish the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany underneath the Baltic Sea by the end of the...
Analysis
Name Dispute: Important issues progressing while public attention fades
While the Name Dispute between Greece and the newly-renamed Republic of North Macedonia has fallen out of the headlines, several notable developments occurred in...
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German MEPs Brok and Keller reiterate opposition to Nord Stream-2
STRASBOURG – Two members of the European Parliament on February 12 renewed their opposition to the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to...
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EU tougher regulations unlikely to stop Nord Stream-2
EU ambassadors have reportedly agreed to toughen regulations on the Nord Stream-2 on February 8, but they have decided not to back plans that...
Analysis
Political landscape reshaped after blistering Prespes Agreement ratification battle
While Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras successfully avoided triggering national elections over the painful ratification battle for June’s Prespes Agreement with the newly renamed...
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As Exxon prepares to drill off Cyprus, tensions flare with Turkey
LIMASSOL, Cyprus – The drillship of ExxonMobil is reportedly expected to arrive in the port of Limassol on November 5 as the US energy...
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Greece, Egypt and the EU support Cyprus’ right to explore for hydrocarbons
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Egyptian President met on the island of Crete on October 10, for talks aimed at...
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Oil prices likely to rise as US plans to officially pull out of Iran deal
US President Donald J. Trump has said the United States will pull out of a nuclear agreement with Iran and any company dealing with...
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Exxon, Total get the green light for drilling off the Greek island of Crete
ATHENS - A consortium of US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, French energy major Total, and Greece’s Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE) has been awarded a...
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Strange bedfellows: Iran sanctions, EU posturing and volatile oil markets
Oil prices remained near three and a half year highs on May 11 as the United States plans to reintroduce sanctions against Iran after...
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Trump pulling out of Iran nuclear deal risks fuel oil prices
As the US Administration of President Donald J. Trump mulls new sanctions against Iran, world oil prices remained high on May 4.“Iran is exactly...
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Macron calls for climate and energy sovereignty
STRASBOURG – French President Emmanuel Macron said it is “essential” for the Europe Union to increase the bloc’s "climate and energy sovereignty."“We must quickly...
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Prompted by Egypt’s Zohr find, Total-Exxon will hunt hydrocarbons off Crete
ATHENS - A French-led consortium from Total and US energy giant ExxonMobil, each with 40% stakes, as well as Hellenic Petroleum, have submitted a...
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Turkish pressure throws EU East Med energy projects into limbo
DELPHI, Greece – The Turkish diplomatic and military pressure in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) may affect...
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Gas drilling, Navtex fuel Turkey-Cyprus tensions in East Med
ATHENS – The tensions between Greece and Turkey after an incident in the eastern Aegean appear to have been defused, but the standoff between...
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At Rome ‘Club Med’ summit, Greece gets a line on TAP gas to Italy
As heads of state and government of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, or so-called “Club Med,’ convened in Rome on January...
Africa
Governator Schwarzenegger, Commissionator Šefčovič promote Clean Mobility
STRASBOURG – The EU wants to kick-start the European car industry, creating competitive zero and low emission cars, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union...
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France’s Total leads hydrocarbon exploration offshore Greece
ATHENS – Greece has signed a lease agreement with the joint venture Total-Edison-Hellenic Petroleum for the Block 2 at the Ionian Sea, offshore Greece.At...
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All eyes on Turkey as Total-ENI vessel readied to drill offshore Cyprus
ATHENS – As the West Capella drilling vessel, contracted by France’s Total in association with Italy’s ENI, is about to start drilling at Block...
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Concordia's Europe Summit inaugurated in Athens
The inaugural Concordia Europe Summit ran June 6-7 in Athens. Launching the star-studded event, Concordia’s founders, Nicholas Logothetis and Matthew Swift, said Greece...
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Cyprus inks major deals with foreign energy giants
France’s Total, Italy’s ENI, US ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum signed agreements in Nicosia this week to explore and produce hydrocarbons offshore Cyprus. Total signed...
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EU Clean Energy aims to reduce fossil fuels
STRASBOURG – The clean energy package that was discussed at the European Parliament in Strasbourg today will focus on renewables and modern technologies, European...
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EU needs small and medium-sized renewable energy projects
ATHENS - Despite pledges of US President-elect Donald Trump to ease regulations for oil and coal and abandon climate change obligations, Europe is forging...
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Davos Dreaming: Reform is the word for Greece coming from Washington
Although not in Davos for the latest round of Greece related fireworks, mostly involving German and Commission officials, this writer has been parsing the...
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Climate Talks Will Always Have Paris
PARIS – On 16 May, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he is “counting on help from the regions” as Paris undertakes the responsibility...
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