On January 29th, under the proposal of Israeli Energy Minister Steinitz, the energy ministers of Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia held an online video conference on the 28th to discuss the Eastern Mediterranean oil and gas pipeline project and issued a joint statement. The project is expected to cost 7 billion euros, with a natural gas transportation volume of 9-12 billion cubic meters per year. The project starts in Israel, connects to the European continent via Cyprus and Crete, Greece (currently ends in Italy), and is expected to be completed in 2025. At present, the project has received 35 million Euro funding from the European Union for 4 research projects. The above research projects will be tendered in the near future.

The statement shows that in addition to the three foreign countries that have already participated in the project (signed at the end of 2019), Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia actively support the Eastern Mediterranean oil and gas pipeline project, hoping to use the project to help the country accelerate the transition from energy consumption to natural gas. The six ministers believe that natural gas, as a key excess energy source, will contribute to the long-term energy transition and significantly reduce carbon emissions in various countries.