BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 18. Southern Gas Corridor plays key role in diversification of EU’s natural gas supply, EU Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“My visit to Baku, together with President von der Leyen, is primarily aimed to strengthen the EU’s cooperation with Azerbaijan in the energy field. Over the past months, the EU has seen Russia and Gazprom use energy supplies as an instrument of blackmail, increasing risks to our security of gas supplies. On top of revealing itself as a brutal aggressor, Russia has showed that it is an unreliable energy supplier for the EU. We are therefore stepping up our efforts to diversify away from Russian supplies and switch to international partners that are trusted and reliable, like Azerbaijan,” she said.
Simson noted that the REPowerEU plan recognises that the Southern Gas Corridor plays a key role in the diversification of the EU’s natural gas supply, in particular for the South Eastern Europe.
“For the past months, we have worked intensively with our Azeri partners to boost our cooperation on this matter and put in place a framework for increased gas deliveries. I had my first visit to Azerbaijan in February to explore the opportunities for boosting gas trade. Now, we are working to ensure attractive and stable conditions for natural gas supplies to the EU, reflecting the long-term nature of the energy partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan, and looking beyond gas to a clean energy partnership in the future.
EU Member States and the Commission have been preparing for many months for disruptions from Russia, reinforcing the resilience of the EU energy system and accelerating our transition away from Russian fossil fuels. Our system is designed to ensure reverse gas flows when needed, and solidarity between Member States, and we have built the infrastructure to ensure that no Member State is left on its own to face this challenge. However, Russia’s continued weaponisation of its gas deliveries puts us in a very serious situation, which could deteriorate further. We can’t exclude a full disruption at this stage. This is why next week, we will come forward with a plan to be ready for the upcoming winter and take preemptive action to reduce our energy consumption, to minimize the impact of possible further supply cuts by Russia,” noted the EU Commissioner.
She went on to add that alongside Azerbaijan, EU is also looking to several other partners across the globe where it sees the potential not only for gas supplies— for which it has an immediate need— but for longer term cooperation, including on hydrogen and renewables.
“We are strengthening our energy cooperation with the US and
have signed an agreement for extra LNG deliveries. We have already
seen a significant increase in LNG shipments reaching EU ports.
We also recently concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with Egypt
and Israel for the export of LNG from the Mediterranean region to
the EU. And last month, we agreed to further step up our
cooperation with Norway on gas deliveries, as part of a deeper
long-term energy partnership.
Qatar and Algeria are some of the other partners we are working
with to reduce our dependence on Russia. Our newly established EU
Energy Platform will be a fundamental tool of our outreach to
international partners and will pave the way for joint purchases by
the interested Member States,” said Kadri Simson.
She pointed out that renewables are the best way to make Europe energy independent.
“Accelerating their deployment is a key pillar of our REPowerEU Plan that we proposed to phase out the EU’s dependence on imported Russian fossil fuels. Renewables are good for the environment and good for the economy.
The clean energy transition will be a key element of our energy security strategy and for this reason we are advancing work on legislation raising the overall EU targets and facilitating the permitting processes for projects that still take too long to see the light of day. The Commission has proposed that 45 percent of our European energy mix is made up of renewables by 2030.
The IGB is another successful example of the EU infrastructure policy and it will allow Azeri gas to flow to Bulgaria and boost the security of supply in the region, at a time when it is much needed. Improving interconnections among the Member States is a key element of our REPowerEU plan and helps us build a truly functioning Energy Union,” the EU Commissioner concluded.
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