BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 22. As we said in our external energy strategy published last month, the EU will intensify cooperation with Azerbaijan in the light of the strategic importance of the Southern Gas Corridor, the European Commission spokesperson told Trend.
The representative of the European Commission pointed out that scaling up the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) capacity would increase the gas supply to the EU and the Western Balkan countries.
“We are in regular contact with our Azerbaijani counterparts. In February Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, participated in the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. She will travel again to Azerbaijan in July,” said the spokesperson.
EU and Azerbaijan are in active dialogue on increasing gas supplies amid the energy crisis. Senior European Commission officials and Azerbaijan government representatives met May 13 to discuss energy issues in line with the EU-Azerbaijan Energy Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In a context of heightened global energy challenges, stable bilateral energy relations and cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan are a key factor contributing to competitive, diversified and secure gas supplies.
Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Europe began on December 31, 2020 with the commissioning of the Southern Gas Corridor comprising of the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).