Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has recently decided to hold a referendum on July to let the Greek population decide whether to accept the terms of the creditors and the reforms they propose. Stock markets and banks have been closed for a week. The population has withdrawn about half of cash from ATMs. After the ATMs get back online, people will be allowed to withdraw no more than 60 euros a day.
Vyacheslav Kulagin, director of the Center for Studies of World Energy Markets, Institute of Energy Research, RAS, said that a default in Greece would have little impact on the Turkish Stream project because the gas pipelines were built by companies, not countries. Companies may receive loans from other sources than Greece itself, which is safe according to the expert.
An aggravating economic situation in Greece would also likely reduce the demand for energy resources, opines the analyst. Lower demand would mean a smaller volume of gas imported.
Regardless of whether Greece leaves the EU or not, the country would have to deal with EU states when connecting the pipeline, Kulagin supposes. In general, the pipeline running through Macedonia or Serbia will follow norms of the European law.
