Filenews 18 July 2022
The European Union is set to sign a new deal to import natural gas with Azerbaijan, CNBC reports, citing a bloc source, as European officials accelerate their step to secure energy security agreements for the "27" bloc, in the shadow of the possibility of a total disruption of Russian flows to Europe.
Europe has been preparing for such a prospect as early as the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow having been a key supplier of gas to the Old Continent for decades and Brussels now in the midst of an intensive effort to reverse energy dependence on the Russian factor.
Russia has denied that it is instrumentalizing gas to hit the West, but deliveries have fallen by 60% in recent weeks and the closure of the Russian-German Nord Stream 1 pipeline for maintenance work has heightened concerns that Moscow may cut off gas supplies.
"You can expect a pledge agreement to significantly increase flows from Azerbaijan to the EU in the coming years," said an EU official with knowledge of the content of the deal, who wished to remain anonymous as discussions continue.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson are visiting Azerbaijan today to close the deal. The President of the European Commission is expected to make joint statements with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the afternoon.
Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, has an exodus to the Caspian Sea and borders Turkey, Armenia, Russia and Iran. It started exporting natural gas via the TAP pipeline to Europe at the end of 2020. At the time, he declared that he planned to send 0 billion cubic metres of gas to Europe every year, mainly to Italy, but also to Greece and Bulgaria.
Source: Capital.gr
