Greece, France Weigh Notification Plan for Sea Cable

According to the Turkish daily Turkiye, Greece and France are looking for a fresh procedural formula after repeated delays to the Great Sea Interconnector, which is meant to link Greece with Cyprus and eventually Israel. The paper said the plan under discussion would have Athens, with French coordination, notify coastal states in the eastern Mediterranean — including Turkey — before exploratory work, and that the surveys could be carried out by a vessel flying the French flag.

Turkiye also said the notification to Ankara could come directly from Paris, a formulation that would allow Greece to frame the step as coordination with a European partner rather than bilateral concession. But in Turkey, the prospect of advance notice is being portrayed as a win for Ankara because it could cite the arrangement as evidence that Greece accepted Turkey’s interests in the area.

That is why the stakes extend beyond the cable itself. Turkey has repeatedly said it does not oppose submarine infrastructure in principle, but insists on full coordination for activities in waters where it claims sovereign rights. Greece, for its part, has treated the project as part of a broader effort to anchor its maritime and energy strategy in the eastern Mediterranean.

For investors, the immediate implication is less about direct market impact than about execution risk. The cable’s delays have already shown how geopolitical friction can slow or reshape strategic infrastructure, raising costs and uncertainty for contractors, utilities and governments trying to build cross-border power links in a region where military and legal tensions overlap.

The story also comes as broader risk sentiment remains elevated around the region, with geopolitical indicators pointing to heightened caution even as markets have been willing to look through some of the noise. The next catalyst is whether Greece, France and Turkey move from reported discussions to an agreed notification process, and whether that unlocks seabed surveys or simply sets up another round of dispute.