Commissioner Simson will visit Azerbaijan together with President von der Leyen on July 18. The programme will include a meeting with President Aliyev. Furthermore, Commissioner Simson will hold an EU-Azerbaijan energy dialogue with the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Mr. Parviz Shahbazov. She will also meet the acting President of SOCAR Mr. Rovshan Najaf.
In an exclusive interview with Report, EU Commissioner Kadri Simson spoke about the purpose of the upcoming visit in Baku:
- How will this upcoming visit contribute to "Building a balanced and resilient energy sector in the three seas region"? Which measures are planned to be taken in this regard?
- During next week’s visit the EU and Azerbaijan will look to strengthen their strategic partnership in the field of energy with a view to increase the role of the Southern Gas Corridor in the diversification of the EU’s natural gas supply, in particular for the South Eastern Europe.
- Could you also comment on the demand for Azerbaijani gas in Europe?
- The EU needs a reliable and predictable gas supply during its energy transition. Predictable and mutually beneficial natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan have proved to be a welcome factor of stability amid the ongoing energy crisis. A future expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor would continue 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. But it is also important that we build a partnership that goes beyond fossil gas in the future, working together to develop hydrogen production and infrastructure, and other renewable energy projects.
- As we know, during your last visit to Azerbaijan there were talks about the expansion of SGC, at which stage are these talks and what are the possibilities of this question? Will this issue be discussed during the visit to Baku next week?
- From our side, the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor has been highlighted in the REPowerEU Plan as a political priority and a key measure for the diversification of the EU’s energy supplies as we move away from Russian gas. The issue will be at core of our discussions in Baku on Monday with our Azeri partners and we hope to reap the fruits of our intense exchanges over the past months.
The Southern Gas Corridor will play a key role in our plans to diversify away from an unreliable partner such as Russia. Increasing the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe via the SGC will be at the core of our discussions in Baku. I am confident that we can build an energy partnership which serves our immediate and future needs, and supports the green transition.