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.

Eastern Mediterranean perspectives

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
Eastern Mediterranean perspectives

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.

Eastern Mediterranean perspectives

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
Eastern Mediterranean perspectives

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

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 […]

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.

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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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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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