The European Union and Azerbaijan have signed an agreement to double gas imports from the energy-rich Caspian nation to Europe seeking to end reliance on Russian gas supplies after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Europe’s energy chief, Kadri Simson, visited Azerbaijan on Monday to finalize the deal. “Amid Russia’s continued weaponization of its energy supplies, diversification of our energy imports is a top priority for the EU,” the European Commission said in a statement Friday ahead of the trip.
“Today, with this new Memorandum of Understanding, we are opening a new chapter in our energy cooperation with Azerbaijan, a key partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels”, President von der Leyen said.
She said that the EU is looking to strengthen its partnership for stable and reliable gas supplies via the Southern Gas Corridor and is also laying the foundations of a long-term partnership on energy efficiency and clean energy.
The new Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy includes a commitment to double the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor to deliver at least 20 billion cubic metres to the EU annually by 2027. This will contribute to the diversification objectives in the REPowerEU Plan and help Europe to end its dependency on Russian gas. Based on the strengthened energy cooperation, Azerbaijan is already now increasing deliveries of natural gas to the EU, from 8.1 billion cubic metres in 2021 to an expected 12 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2022.
EU’s energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, said: “Azerbaijan has already increased the natural gas deliveries to the EU and this trend will continue, with up to 4 billion cubic meters of additional gas this year and volumes expected to more than double by 2027. But our cooperation goes beyond that, accelerating the deployment of renewables and addressing methane emissions; these steps will both increase the security of supply and help achieve our climate goals.”
The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev praised the deal as a “road map for the future,” saying the EU-Azerbaijan energy cooperation has already “changed the energy map of Europe.”
