HJS Friends of Israel Report FINAL_HJS Friends of Israel Report FINAL.qxd 06/02/2014 09:55 Page 14 ADDED VALUE: ISRAEL’S STRATEGIC WORTH TO THE EU AND ITS MEMBER STATES Israel as a prime target Gulf states.838485 The Tamar offshore gas field is the for EU commerce largest private infrastructure project in the country’s history,86 generating 300 million cubic feet of gas a Israel’s economy is not only one of the world’s most day, but significantly smaller than the still-untapped dynamic, but has weathered the global economic crisis Leviathan field. 87 Indeed, Russia’s state-run giant, far better than most other Western economies. New Gazprom, has already signed an initial agreement to York’s MSCI index ranked Israel 3rd, out of 24 export gas from Tamar, and Western markets must act developed countries, in terms of projected growth.78 Unsurprisingly, European investors have taken notice. fast to keep Moscow from making the Eastern Med 88 European foreign direct investment in Israel reached iterranean its private filling station. €7.5 billion in 2011, up nearly half a billion euros Natural gas is fast surpassing coal as the world’s from the year before, and the European Commission leading source of electricity production, 89 and a places Israel sixth worldwide – in terms of protecting proposed underwater electric cable (the world’s investors.79 longest) could soon link Israel to the EU, through Cyprus and – potentially – Greece.90 91 As Solomon In 2010, Israel was included in the latest round of new Passy, Bulgaria’s former foreign minister, said, “The members to the Organisation for Economic recent agreements between Israel and Cyprus and Co-operation and Development (OECD). Today, it is e’s no reason Israel can’t be better the only country in the Middle East and North Africa Greece show ther admitted to that grouping of advanced developed integrated in the EU in other fields. Nowadays, energy economies (which began its life as the Organisation policy is key to foreign policy; you can’t have one for European Economic Co-operation). 80 Visiting without the other.” 92 Schwammenthal, the Israel in December 2013, OECD secretary-general Brussels-based analyst, said that Greek leaders have Angel Gurría remarked: begun to realise the tremendous strategic advantage, across the Mediterranean, provided by the Jewish Israel’s growth rates are the envy of much of the rest of the OECD. Unemployment is at record lows. Inflation is under control. And [the 83 Joshua Hammer, “Israel: IEI’s Land of Oil and Money,” Fast Company, 8 August 2011, available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/1769210/ country’s] high-tech sector continues to attract israel-ieis-land-oil-and-money (accessed 8 November 2013). 84 “Israel emerges as admiration worldwide. All the building blocks energy power,” Financial Times, 6 November 2013, available at: http://video.ft.com/2808621410001/Israel-emerges-as- of a strong economy are present and accounted energy-power/Companies (accessed 6 November 2013). 85 John Reed, “Israel set to become major gas exporter,” Financial Times, for, but its [sic] gas production that could be the 6 November 2013, available at: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/82e01bda- real game-changer.81 4518-11e3-b98b-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#axzz2jr5Zp7yU (accessed 6 November 2013). 86 R oby Nathanson and Ro’ee Levy (eds), Natural Gas in the Eastern Energy Mediterranean: Casus Belli or Chance for Regional Cooperation? (Tel Aviv: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Institute for National Security Studies, 2012), p. 52. Israel has discovered large natural-gas fields, in recent 87 Karl Vick, “Tapping the Promised Land: Can Israel Be an Energy Giant?,” years, which could have enormous consequences for a Time, 30 April 2013, available at: http://world.time.com/2013/04/30/ can-israel-become-as-oil-rich-as-saudi- abia/ (accessed 7 November 2013). ar Europe eager to wean itself off energy from unreliable, 88 See: Keith Johnson, “Putin’s Mediterranean Move,” Foreign Policy, 27 authoritarian regimes like Russia (from which it December 2013, available at: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/ 12/27/putin_s_mediterranean_move#sthash.NGNc6z8M.nJyhlJVe.dpbs; see receives a third of its gas and oil) 82 and the Persian also: Jonathan Ferziger, “Israel Gas Riddle Has Woodside, Gazprom Hanging: Israel Markets,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 30 December 2013, available at: http://www nessweek.com/news/2013-12-29/israel-gas-riddle-has- .busi woodside-gazprom-hanging-israel-markets (both accessed 8 January 2014). 78 “Trading with Israel,” UK Israel Business, available at: 89 “Electricity Generation,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, 5 December http://www.ukisraelbusiness.co.uk/?page_id=104 (accessed 29 October 2013). 2012, available at: http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/early_elecgen.cfm 79 Ibid. (accessed 20 November 2013). 80 “Israel,” OECD, available at: http://www.oecd.org/israel 90 Michele Kambas, “Cyprus group plans Greece-Israel electricity link,” Reuters, (accessed 16 December 2013). 23 January 2012 lable at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/23/ , avai 81 “Launch of OECD’s 2013 Economic Survey of Israel,” OECD, 8 December electricity-mediterranean-cable-idAFL5E8CN25B20120123 2013, available at: http://www.oecd.org/about/secretary-general/ (accessed 6 November 2013). launchofoecds2013economicsurveyofisrael.htm (accessed 23 December 2013). 91 Katie Carnie, Cleve Jones, Peter Feeney and John Reed, “Options for 82 “Energy Dialogue EU – Russia: The Ten exporting Israeli gas,” Financial Times, 6 November 2013, available at: th Progress Report,” European http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b62ba372-463c-11e3-9487- Commission (2009), available at: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/ 00144feabdc0.html#axzz2jr5Zp7yU (accessed 6 November 2013). international/bilateral_cooperation/russia/doc/reports/progress10_en.pdf (accessed 6 November 2013). 92 Author interview, 11 December 2013. 12