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Cyprus To Disburse €25 Million Only Upon Full Execution Of Great Sea Interconnector, Minister Declares

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 25, 2025

Overview Of The Payment Commitment

The Republic of Cyprus has affirmed its intention to pay the €25 million installment to Greece’s independent transmission system operator, Admie, contingent upon the complete implementation of the Great Sea Interconnector project. Energy Minister George Papanastasiou clarified that the project must be executed in its entirety, noting that the construction of the cables alone does not fulfill the payment criteria.

Conditional Payment Structure And Project Implementation

Speaking to a national broadcaster, Minister Papanastasiou emphasized that while the government is committed to honoring its contractual obligations through five annual payments of €25 million, this commitment is linked to Admie’s equally binding duty to advance the project. The payment structure is designed to secure a stable income for Admie— a major shareholder with a 51 percent stake in the project— until the interconnector becomes profitable. “An obligation cannot only rest on the payer,” he stated, underscoring the need for a balanced commitment from both parties.

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Pricing Mechanism And Financial Concerns

Minister Papanastasiou also discussed the necessity of finalizing the pricing mechanism to ensure that the €25 million payment is promptly available upon the decision to proceed. However, he stressed that releasing funds before the project is fully implemented would be premature. A lack of progress on the interconnector and divergent views on funding sources have led to substantial disagreements between Cyprus and Greece. The initial plan to finance payments using funds from the European Union’s emissions trading system was critiqued on the grounds of potential conflicts with EU state aid rules.

Strategic Importance And International Endorsement

Both Cyprus and Greece remain publicly committed to the strategic importance of the interconnector, which aims to interlink the countries’ electricity grids along with that of Israel. Recent joint statements by President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have reinforced this commitment, with backing from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. Despite these high-level affirmations, domestic concerns regarding the project’s feasibility persist, supported by studies suggesting unsustainability at this stage.

Investigative Oversight And Public Assurance

Adding to the complex narrative, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has initiated an investigation into the interconnector project. Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis has refuted allegations involving his family, firmly stating that no judicial inquiry concerns his relatives. The minister reiterated that all project participants must meet their obligations without shifting undue responsibility to the other party.

Conclusion

The unfolding dialogue between Cyprus and Greece over the Great Sea Interconnector underscores the broader challenges inherent in multinational infrastructure projects. Both nations have signaled an unwavering commitment to the strategic project, yet financial disbursements remain closely tied to demonstrable progress on the ground. As the project moves forward, industry stakeholders will be closely monitoring its evolution, balancing strategic benefits against the pragmatic realities of execution and governance.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.