Bilirakis and Malliotakis Correct the Record, Rebut Biden Administration’s Flimsy Justification for Abandoning Allies

Washington, DC: On January 24, 2022, Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Nicole Malliotakis sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State criticizing the Biden Administration for reversing the United States' support of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Pipeline (EMGP). The pair condemned the Administration's abandonment of European allies as they attempt to gain energy independence from hostile nations and noted the hypocrisy of this policy reversal while the Administration simultaneously gave its support for Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of State sent a response riddled with inaccuracies. Today, Bilirakis and Malliotakis corrected the record, rebutting the Biden Administration's false narrative and pushing back on its flimsy justification for abandoning key allies as it supports Russian adversaries.

"There is simply no reasonable justification for turning our back on our European allies and forcing them to remain dependent on unstable and hostile regimes, like Russia, to meet their energy needs," said Congressman Bilirakis. "This is the latest in a long-line of irrational decisions from the Biden Administration that undermine our credibility on the international stage and jeopardize global security. We have seen that Putin's quest for power and influence is emboldened by Europe's current dependence on Russia's fuel sources. We have the opportunity to change the power dynamics by supporting our steadfast allies in this critical project. It would be foolhardy to squander such an important opportunity."

"President Biden's decision to shut down America's Keystone XL Pipeline, greenlight Putin's NordStream 2 pipeline, and now disavow the Greek-Cypriot-Israeli EastMed Pipeline is a microcosm of this Administration's failed energy and foreign policy agendas," said Congresswoman Malliotakis. "This President is asleep at the wheel, and his decision-making could cause severe economic and national security consequences for America and our allies. We urge the Administration to reverse its decision to withdraw support for the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline and work to ensure its resources are brought to market as soon as possible."

After rebutting several glaring inaccuracies in the Department of State's rationale for withdrawing its support, Bilirakis and Malliotakis assert, "Whether you want to classify the Administration's position as a clarification or a reversal, it is clearly a position at odds with positions taken during the Trump Administration, at odds with positions taken by members of Congress, and at odds with American law. Secondly, we have an issue with the logic behind this reversal of policy. While previous expressions of US support for the EMGP were indeed conditioned on commercial viability and the State Department's reversal in policy assumes lack of such viability, this is a conclusion that seems to have been reached unilaterally, absent consultations with our allies and partners in the region and before the completion of feasibility studies. The EastMed Act requires multiple reports to be submitted to Congress regarding energy development and infrastructure, and to my knowledge no report has been submitted comprehensively analyzing the commercial viability issue. The State Department appears to have rushed to a conclusion here and in the process skipped several key steps including consulting with US allies and partners and with the United States Congress as required by the EastMed Act….. The manner in which the issue of the EMGP was handled only helps the malign influences, including Russia, Turkey and Iran, that we identified in the EastMed Act."