US Senate bill positions Egypt's energy infrastructure at the heart of the India-Mideast-Europe corridor

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Washington is on track to make Egypt’s infrastructure a cornerstone of its Mediterranean energy policy. Egypt’s energy trade infrastructure may find itself at the center of Washington’s plans for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). A bipartisan bill (pdf) approved by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week identified the planned Greece-Egypt electricity interconnection (Gregy) and Egypt’s LNG facilities as key links connecting India, the Gulf, and Europe that deserves backing.

Why it matters: The proposed bill frames IMEC as a strategic alternative to Chinese-backed infrastructure initiatives and seeks to institutionalize US support for greater connectivity across the region. The bill raises the strategic profile of Gregy and Egypt’s LNG infrastructure by positioning them within Washington’s vision for IMEC — offering political backing, but not funding. The bill still requires approval from the full Senate and House before becoming law.

Qatar’s hand looms over two VW crossroads: The Qatar Investment Authority, which holds 17% of Volkswagen’s voting rights and is the carmaker’s third-largest shareholder, finds itself entangled in two unrelated but consequential decisions shaping Europe’s biggest automaker.

Doha’s relationship with Tel Aviv is complicating one of VW’s key turnaround moves: The carmaker has been in talks with Israeli arms maker Rafael, which signed a letter of intent in April to buy VW’s idling Osnabrueck plant and manufacture components there for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. But the QIA — which has two seats on VW’s supervisory board — has raised unspecified concerns over the talks, Reuters reports. The standoff risks delaying VW’s plans for the 2,300-worker site, with Lower Saxony floated as a potential JV partner to break the impasse.

Separately, Qatar’s influence has reshaped VW’s USD 10 bn sale of its Everllence engine unit (formerly MAN Energy Solutions). Because the QIA and Porsche have teamed up with private equity group EQT to bid, six conflicted board members — including chair Hans Dieter Pötsch — will recuse themselves, handling worker and union representatives a majority vote, the Financial Times reports. VW has demanded sealed-envelope bids to dispel any impression of an unfair process. EQT’s consortium faces CVC, backed by Canadian pension funds, and US firm Bain, with final offers due next week. Bids have climbed to c. EUR 8.5 bn from EUR 5 bn as ship-engine and data center turbine demand surges.

Sign of the times

Norway and the EU may soon impose bans on imports of Israeli products originating from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Norway is opening a widely popular bill for consultation with a deadline on 19 September, whereas the European Commission is expected to discuss a few options for a similar ban during a ministerial-level meeting next Month.

The Norway bill will likely pass, but we’re less certain about the EU. The European Commission had been reluctant to impose any serious trade restrictions on Israel despite mounting pressure from the public and rising number of member-states. Discussions on the EU level included calls to suspend the EU-Israel freetrade agreement, which would be a more stringent form of trade sanctions than just targeting settlement-produced goods. Meanwhile, Norway has already been actively limiting its exposure to the Israeli economy over the last two years — the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, has been divesting Israeli bonds and stocks.

But any real impact on Israeli trade would come from the EU, not Norway. The bloc is Israel’s top trading partner, accounting for almost a third of Israeli exports. The odds of Germany allowing an EU-wide action against trade with Israel are slim.