The official announcement took place during the Tunisia Investment Forum (TIF) on 12^th and 13^th June, hosted by the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) in partnership with the European Union Delegation in Tunisia. Team Europe affirms its dedication to sustainable development in the Mediterranean region by committing a total €472,6 million to the ELMED electricity interconnection project and its ecosystem.

In December 2022, the European Union approved a €307.6 million grant from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the ELMED project. The grant agreement was signed on 7^th August 2023 by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), along with Italy’s national electricity transmission grid operator, Rete Elettrica Nazionale (TERNA) and the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (Société Tunisienne de l’Électricité et du Gaz, STEG). This funding is crucial for the planning and construction phases of ELMED.

In December 2023, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German Development Bank (KfW)), signed loan agreements worth €125 million to finance essential infrastructure such as the underwater cable, under the lead of the EIB.

To ensure a smooth implementation of the ELMED project, the EU approved an additional €27 million grant in December 2023 under the Neighbourhood Investment Platform. This funding will reinforce critical infrastructure components in Tunisia, including three key elements:

• Modernisation of the dispatch centre (€10 million of EU investment), implemented by KfW, which has made available to Tunisia the 13M EUR funding needed;
• Technical supervision of design and construction of the ELMED project to support  STEG implemented by the EIB with a €12 million grant of EU investment grant under the European Neighbourhood Platform;
• Social and environmental studies for the Tunisian green corridor, to ensure regulatory convergence between Italian and Tunisian grids required for the effective operation of the interconnector, implemented by EBRD (€5 million EU grant).