A broad range of viewpoints

The programming and published products of the Atlantic Council provide a platform for a broad range of viewpoints on how to create regional stability and integration, as well as boost economic development in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Multiple Atlantic Council programs, including the Atlantic Council in Turkey, the Global Energy Center, the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, and the Europe Center are engaged in navigating theses complex tensions and challenges.

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Report

Feb 16, 2022

Energy and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean

By
Charles Ellinas

Fossil fuel development in the Eastern Mediterranean is both laden with promise and fraught with tension. Member states of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) have established joint ventures for exploration and drilling, pipeline building, and LNG export across the region, creating an international web of proposed infrastructure to tap its abundant reserves. But Turkey […]

Energy & Environment
Energy Markets & Governance

Commentary & Analysis

How can the Eastern Mediterannean create regional stability?

Working with a wide community of experts and thought-leaders, the Atlantic Council delivers cutting-edge analysis and policy recommendations.

General Haftar’s offensive in the Fezzan region and the Italian-French competition

TURKEYSource
Jan 20, 2022

Turkey’s muted response to Cyprus’ offshore drilling reflects a new diplomatic reality

By
Serhat S. Cubukcuoglu

Turkey’s response, or lack thereof, to Cyprus’ recent moves to capitalize on natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean marks a shift in diplomatic tone. While Turkey’s stance has not changed, under the surface lies a changing geopolitical and economic reality.

Geopolitics & Energy Security
Greece

General Haftar’s offensive in the Fezzan region and the Italian-French competition

EnergySource
Dec 31, 2020

Rapid response: The Southern Gas Corridor opens today

By
Richard L. Morningstar, Matthew Bryza, Neil Robert Brown, Brenda Shaffer

Today marks a historic milestone for energy diplomacy and international cooperation. The Southern Gas Corridor pipeline system opened today. This natural gas megaproject brings Caspian gas to Europe for the first time, linking seven countries, starting in Azerbaijan and ending in Italy.

Energy & Environment
Europe & Eurasia

events

Watch the webcast

The Cyprus Settlement and Eastern Mediterranean Hydrocarbon Export Scenarios

Atlantic Council Turkey hosted a panel discussion in Istanbul in cooperation with Sabanci University’s Istanbul International Centre for Energy and Climate (IICEC) to explore the latest political and market developments related to Eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbon resources and Cyprus reunification.

Watch the webcast

Global Energy Debates and the East Mediterranean

On November 16, 2015, the Peace Research Institute Oslo-PRIO Cyprus Centre, in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation in Cyprus and the Atlantic Council, organized its annual energy conference in the Nicosia UN Buffer Zone. The conference invited international experts to discuss the increasingly complex global energy landscape, paying particular attention to the Eastern Mediterranean region.

In-depth research & reports

How can the Eastern Mediterannean create regional stability?

Working with a wide community of experts and thought-leaders, the Atlantic Council delivers cutting-edge analysis and policy recommendations.

General Haftar’s offensive in the Fezzan region and the Italian-French competition

Report
Feb 16, 2022

Energy and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean

By
Charles Ellinas

Fossil fuel development in the Eastern Mediterranean is both laden with promise and fraught with tension. Member states of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) have established joint ventures for exploration and drilling, pipeline building, and LNG export across the region, creating an international web of proposed infrastructure to tap its abundant reserves. But Turkey […]

Energy & Environment
Energy Markets & Governance

General Haftar’s offensive in the Fezzan region and the Italian-French competition

Report
Oct 7, 2020

Value beyond price: Prioritizing political stability and regional integration when financing Mediterranean gas

By
Olgu Okumuş

A comprehensive overview of the tensions surrounding natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean which argues that development projects must take into account geopolitical rivalries as a reality in determining how to leverage East Med gas by mobilizing the power of multilateral dialogue platforms and international development banks.

Europe & Eurasia
European Union

all content

TURKEYSource

Jan 20, 2022

Turkey’s muted response to Cyprus’ offshore drilling reflects a new diplomatic reality

By
Serhat S. Cubukcuoglu

Turkey’s response, or lack thereof, to Cyprus’ recent moves to capitalize on natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean marks a shift in diplomatic tone. While Turkey’s stance has not changed, under the surface lies a changing geopolitical and economic reality.

Geopolitics & Energy Security
Greece


MENASource

Jan 14, 2022

Where is the United States? Military basing and energy are the real prizes in Libya.

By
Matthew Zais

It wasn’t a surprise to many that Libya’s long-awaited elections were postponed. As the elections approached, fundamental rules over presidential powers, who was allowed to be a candidate, and election enforcement mechanisms remained unclear.

Elections
Libya


TURKEYSource

Nov 17, 2021

Why Turkey’s transatlantic identity could change forever

By
Can Kasapoglu and Sine Ozkarasahin

Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and disagreements over defense policy with the United States are pushing transatlantic ties with Turkey to the brink with potentially seismic changes to Turkey’s strategic orientation and identity and major implications for the NATO alliance.

Conflict
Defense Technologies


Report

Oct 26, 2021

North Africa 2030: What the future holds for the region

By
Frederick Kempe, Giampiero Massolo, Yahia Zoubir, Abdelkader Abderrahmane, Pietro Gagliardi, Guillaume Biganzoli, Aldo Liga, Nader Kabbani, Nejla Ben Mimoune, Hannah Abdullah, Karim Elgendy, Shlomo Roiter Jesner, Jay Mens, Armando Sanguini, Karim Mezran, and Alissa Pavia

In the last decade, several events redefined North Africa’s heterogeneous character and identity. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the Arab spring, but most of the root causes fueling the unrest remain unaddressed.

Middle East
North Africa


MENASource

Oct 6, 2021

Why Israeli gas and Syrian sanctions relief may turn on Lebanon’s lights

By
Matthew Zais

Before the United States and World Bank throw a lifeline to either Bashar al-Assad or Lebanon, they should demand concessions that reduce Iranian and Russian influence in the region.

Lebanon
Middle East


MENASource

Jun 1, 2021

Egypt recalibrated its strategy in Libya because of Turkey

By
Alessia Melcangi

It is evident that the strategic pivots of Egyptian leadership in Libya are adapting and evolving in concordance with developments on the ground and keeping in mind wider regional implications—particularly its relations with Turkey.

Libya
Middle East


TURKEYSource

Apr 29, 2021

Turkey and the new Libyan government: continuity, change, and new opportunities

By
Karim Mezran and Dario Cristiani

The new Libyan leadership’s early moves on the international stage demonstrate its openness to engaging with all actors. Interim Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh’s government’s closest and most important international partner is Turkey, which, driven by strategic interests has continued to support the internationally recognized Libya government.

Conflict
Libya


MENASource

Apr 16, 2021

Italy found its way back into Libya

By
Karim Mezran, Alissa Pavia

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s visit to Libya is a big step for renewing Italy’s role in Libya and the wider Mediterranean, one that should not be overlooked.

Libya
Middle East


MENASource

Apr 6, 2021

The Abraham Accords hold the key to Biden’s East Med policy

By
Matthew Zais

While motivated by the potential for a new Iran nuclear deal under the Biden administration, the Abraham Accords represent an unprecedented regional unification that was inconceivable just a few years ago. But it also represents an opportunity to continue America’s positive international energy diplomacy, and leadership in the East Med would be an ideal place to pick up the baton.

Middle East
North Africa


TURKEYSource

Mar 5, 2021

To manage tensions between Turkey and Greece, the US should look to history

By
Grady Wilson

Tensions between Turkey and Greece flared over the past year over disputed maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean. The United States should mediate between the two NATO allies to protect its interests based on its long term commitment to a stable and secure region.

Greece
International Norms

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learn about the centers

The Atlantic Council in Turkey aims to promote dialogue and strengthen transatlantic engagement with the region through research, programming and high-level discussion forums to address critical issues around energy, economics, business, and security.

Learn more

The Global Energy Center develops and promotes pragmatic and nonpartisan policy solutions designed to advance global energy security, enhance economic opportunity, and accelerate pathways to net-zero emissions.

learn more

Middle East Programs

Through our Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the invaluable human potential of the region.

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Content

MENASource

Feb 22, 2019

General Haftar’s offensive in the Fezzan region and the Italian-French competition

By Karim Mezran

The military forces under the command of General Khalifa Haftar launched a large-scale attack on the Fezzan region in January, with the aim of taking control of the main areas of local oil production.

Libya

Report

Dec 19, 2018

Turkey’s energy nexus: Discoveries and developments

By Atlantic Council IN TURKEY

As the fastest growing energy market in the OECD over the past decade and a country dependent on imports for almost all of its hydrocarbon demand, Turkey’s energy sector carries regional implications. Securing a reliable and affordable source of energy, through diversification and increased domestic production, has formed the cornerstone of Turkey’s energy policy.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

MENASource

Apr 11, 2018

North African winds

By Karim Mezran

Challenged by the Libyan crisis and the consequent threats that derive from its instability—continuing violence, expanding terrorism, and flourishing organized crime—it could be reasonably expected that a more assertive cooperation would incur among the North African countries.

North Africa

MENASource

Jul 28, 2017

France, Italy, and Libya’s Crisis

By Karim Mezran and Elissa Miller

In a major development in Libya’s ongoing conflict, head of the internationally recognized Libyan government Fayez al-Serraj and strongman Khalifa Haftar met in Paris this week, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, to discuss a way out of the country’s current crisis. The meeting between Serraj and Haftar is the second in three months and […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

May 19, 2017

Pipeline Diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean

By Firas Maksad and Jean-François Seznec

A creative solution to a quarrel over maritime borders could serve the interests of Lebanon and Israel Recent oil and gas developments in the eastern Mediterranean have brought back into the spotlight the issue of an ongoing maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon that has created uncertainty among prospective foreign investors over the potential […]

Israel Middle East

Report

Dec 21, 2016

Global Energy Debates and the Eastern Mediterranean

By Ayla Gürel Moran, Harry Tzimitras, and Hubert Faustmann

Read the Publication (PDF) In the Eastern Mediterranean, which is characterised more by conflict than cooperation, persistent conscious effort is needed to minimise the effects of narrow-minded populism or politicisation of issues. Such attitudes are particularly unhelpful when it comes to realising the potential of the region’s hydrocarbons through solutions that are optimal both commercially […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 25, 2016

Energizing Ties in the Eastern Mediterranean

By Gina Cohen

Offshore natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean have created critical opportunities for cooperation among countries in the region, especially Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. Of these five countries, Cyprus and Israel have discovered more gas than either can consume over the next thirty years. Turkey and Jordan have no indigenous gas and need […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance
USS Gravely, Sept. 27, 2012 (photo: Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker/US Navy)

Eastern Mediterranean Perspectives

Jul 6, 2016

Russia versus NATO: High Seas Interactions and High Speed Misinformation

By Steven Horrell

On 28 June, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement, and a video, accusing the US Navy and the destroyer USS Gravely of unsafe and unprofessional maneuvering while overtaking the Russian Navy frigate Yaroslav Mudry in the eastern Mediterranean on June 17.

NATO Russia

Eastern Mediterranean Perspectives

Mar 18, 2016

The Cyprus Settlement and Eastern Mediterranean Hydrocarbon Export Scenarios

By Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center

The Cyprus Settlement and Eastern Mediterranean Hydrocarbon Export Scenarios

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

Content Series

Dec 4, 2015

Global Energy Debates and the East Mediterranean

By Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center

On November 16, 2015, the Peace Research Institute Oslo-PRIO Cyprus Centre, in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation in Cyprus and the Atlantic Council, organized its annual energy conference in the Nicosia UN Buffer Zone. The conference invited international experts to discuss the increasingly complex global energy landscape, paying particular attention to the Eastern Mediterranean region. The […]