The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Monday an agreement with Azerbaijan to double “in a few years” EU gas imports from this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, where she is traveling.
Brussels is seeking to diversify European supplies to free itself from Russian supplies on which Europe is very dependent. Moscow has already started to turn off the tap and the Europeans fear a total disruption of deliveries in reaction to the sanctions taken against the invasion of Ukraine.
More reliable suppliers
“The EU is turning to more reliable energy suppliers. I am in Azerbaijan today to sign a new agreement. Our goal: to double Azerbaijan’s gas deliveries to the EU within a few years. (This country) will be an essential partner for our security of supply and on the way to climate neutrality,” Von der Leyen said in a post on Twitter.
Last year, Azerbaijan supplied some 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe via pipelines passing through Georgia and Turkey.
Cut with the Russians
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev announced last week that an “important document on energy security” would be signed with the European Union. In May, EU leaders approved a halt to most Russian oil imports by the end of the year, as part of sanctions against Moscow.
But they have carefully avoided taking sanctions that could affect their imports of Russian gas, which last year amounted to 155 billion cubic meters, or nearly 40% of their needs.
