Strategic Position
The Crossroads of Three Continents
Greece occupies one of the most strategically significant positions in the world — at the junction of Europe, Asia, and Africa, controlling the sea lanes between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and sharing borders with four countries whose stability is of direct concern to NATO and the European Union.
The war in Ukraine has dramatically elevated Greece's strategic importance. As a NATO member with significant naval capabilities, a long history of engagement with the Black Sea region, and a large merchant fleet that plays a critical role in global commodity shipping, Greece has found itself at the centre of the alliance's response to Russian aggression.
Greece's relationship with Turkey — its NATO ally and historic rival — remains the most complex and consequential bilateral relationship in the Eastern Mediterranean. The two countries share a long history of tension over territorial waters, airspace, and the status of Cyprus, but have also demonstrated a capacity for pragmatic cooperation when their interests align.
Energy & Infrastructure
The New Mediterranean Energy Hub
Greece is emerging as a critical node in Europe's energy infrastructure. The Alexandroupolis LNG terminal in northern Greece — one of the largest floating storage and regasification units in Europe — is designed to provide an alternative supply route for natural gas to southeastern Europe, reducing dependence on Russian pipelines.
The EastMed pipeline project, which would bring natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean gas fields of Israel and Cyprus to Greece and onward to Europe, represents a potential transformation of the region's energy geography. Greece's role as a transit country for this infrastructure gives it significant leverage in European energy policy.
Greece's ports — Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Alexandroupolis — are increasingly important nodes in European supply chains. The Chinese investment in Piraeus through COSCO has made it the largest port in the Mediterranean by container throughput, a development with significant geopolitical as well as economic implications.