Last week, the European Union signed a gas agreement with Israel and Egypt to boost gas shipments that would ease the oil crisis facing Western Europe since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the deal, Israel plans to send the natural gas from its vast offshore fields in the eastern Mediterranean through a pipeline to Egypt. In reciprocation, the European Union will incentivize European companies to participate in Israeli and Egyptian exploration tenders.
The deal is one of the first to allow significant exports of Israeli gas to Europe. Israel, which is on track to double its gas production in the next few years, is on its way to becoming a major gas producer. While Egypt also is a gas producer, its exports have been constrained by domestic demand.
The new agreement is especially urgent for the European Union, considering that its nations imported 40 percent of their gas from Russia last year. Leaders and officials from both the Middle East and Europe have praised the agreement as a beneficial economic and political arrangement. The petroleum minister of Egypt, Tarek El-Molla, praised the agreement as “an important step toward achieving more energy cooperation.” The European Union commissioner echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that the agreement was a “big step forward in the energy supply for Europe.”
This development could potentially change the political and commercial relationship between the EU and the Middle East. While a history of European colonialism in the region has fostered mistrust, there is greater potential for a strong future alliance that could serve mutual economic and political interests. If Europe can benefit from increased access to Middle Eastern energy, the EU may be more inclined to support Israel and other Sunni Arab nations in their conflict against their regional rival, Iran. A successful partnership could also create a stronger bulwark against China and Russia, hegemonic powers that are already seeking to cultivate political and economic influence in the Middle East.