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

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


MENASource

Oct 28, 2020

For Turkey, the Libyan conflict and the eastern Mediterranean are inextricably linked

By
Ahmed Helal

The proxy confrontation playing out in Libya has intensified a regional competition for resources in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean, where several overlapping claims for maritime jurisdiction by Turkey, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus have fueled escalating tensions.

Europe & Eurasia
Libya


Mediterranean

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


Issue Brief

Sep 29, 2020

The impact of COVID-19 on either shore of the Mediterranean

By
Karim Mezran, Emily Burchfield, Paolo Alli, Emadeddin Badi, Haykel Ben Mahfoudh, Alessia Melcangi

This report draws on case studies of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and migration to the EU to illuminate the key challenges faced in the Mediterranean community, and warns of the undesirable outcomes ahead if international inaction toward the region persists.

Coronavirus
North Africa


TURKEYSource

Sep 23, 2020

Now let’s see an agreement in the Eastern Mediterranean

By
Brenda Shaffer

The Trump administration has demonstrated its ability to bring allies together and promote regional peace and cooperation. The United States should keep up this momentum by helping to reach an agreement between Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, and de-escalate the conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia


TURKEYSource

Sep 23, 2020

Solving the Eastern Mediterranean crisis requires compromise

By
Matthew Bryza

France, Greece, and the entire EU should embrace this de-escalatory approach, recognizing that the entire transatlantic community will be strategically better off with a strong Greece-Turkey relationship that ensures a fair system for sharing Eastern Mediterranean energy resources.

Geopolitics & Energy Security
Greece


TURKEYSource

Sep 17, 2020

Eastern Mediterranean tensions require diplomacy, not conflict

By
Mitat Çelikpala

Despite the continued challenges and dangerous rhetoric, the only viable path remains through dialogue and compromise. For Turkey, this means openness to dialogue to address the issues at hand and expanding its diplomatic front to build support for its interests.

Conflict
Crisis Management


MENASource

Mar 30, 2020

The coronavirus crisis highlights the unique challenges of North African countries

By
Karim Mezran, Alessia Melcangi, Emily Burchfield, and Zineb Riboua

It is important to monitor the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, its effects on each North Africa system, and the debate between government elites and masses to better understand the situation in these countries and the long-term implications of the health crisis.

Coronavirus
Libya


MENASource

Oct 29, 2019

NATO countries should help Egypt mitigate security challenge near Libyan border

By
Amal Kandeel

Egypt is facing multiple security challenges for which a military solution is deficient. A complex interplay between internal and external challenges, as well as human and security challenges, is evident in western Egypt and within the area bordering Libya. The mix of harsh climatic conditions, inhospitable terrain, and lagging economic development, on one hand, and […]

Libya
Middle East


Report

Oct 8, 2019

The MENA region: A great power competition

By
Karim Mezran and Arturo Varvelli

The idea of a ‘Russian resurgence’ in the Middle East set against a perceived American withdrawal has captured the attention of policymakers and scholars alike, warranting further examination.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy

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learn about the centers

The Atlantic Council in Turkey aims to promote and strengthen transatlantic engagement with the region by providing a high-level forum and pursuing programming to address the most important issues on energy, economics, security, and defense.

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.

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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 […]