President of the European Commission, Ursula van der LeyenIt announced a deal with Azerbaijan on Monday to double EU gas imports “over a few years” from this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, which it transits.
Brussels is seeking to diversify European supplies to free itself from Russian supplies, on which Europe is heavily dependent. Moscow It has already started turning off the tap and fears of a total disruption in deliveries in response to the sanctions imposed on the Europeans. Invasion of Ukraine.
More reliable suppliers
“The EU is turning to more reliable energy suppliers. Today I am in Azerbaijan to sign a new agreement. Our goal: to double Azerbaijan’s gas supply to the EU in a few years. (This country) will be an essential partner on our path to security of supply and climate neutrality,” Van Der said. Leyen said in a post on Twitter.
Last year theAzerbaijan It delivered about 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe through pipelines running through Georgia and Turkey.
Cut to the Russians
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev announced last week that a “major document on energy security” would be signed with the European Union. In May, EU leaders agreed to freeze most Russian oil imports by the end of the year as part of sanctions against Moscow.
But they have carefully avoided sanctions that could affect Russian gas imports, which accounted for 155 billion cubic meters last year, or nearly 40% of their needs.
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