Energy costs are crippling industry and putting an enormous burden on households across the bloc.Continue reading
On December 17, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Bucharest to sign a contract on the electricity grid that will supply electricity from Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania.
The event is also reportedly being attended by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Energy coming from Azerbaijan is not a new development: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held talks with the Azerbaijani Energy Minister in August. After the meeting, the Hungarian minister announced that
Azerbaijan would produce large quantities of green electricity, which would be transported via a submarine pipeline first to Georgia, then to Romania and Hungary.
To receive EU funding, the project required the participation of at least two Member States, so Hungary joined Romania in the energy plan. Szijjártó said that the green electricity to be transported to Hungary could partly be used by Hungarians, but the country could also be a transit route, passing on the electricity. The investment will take around 3-4 years to complete and will help the participants to reach their carbon neutrality targets.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Azerbaijan is a net energy exporter and rich in resources. Crude oil and natural gas production and exports are central to the country’s economy and government revenues, with natural gas accounting for over two–thirds of Azerbaijan’s total domestic energy consumption. The country’s electric power mainly comes from natural gas-fired generation, while hydro-power also plays a part and has significant potential for energy supply.
Azerbaijan could be a big help for the European economy since the country has extensive gas fields, and with the shadow of the Russian-Ukrainian war and EU sanctions, Azerbaijan could step up as a major gas exporter.
In the coming years, the country is putting two new gas fields into operation to meet demand, and there have already been talks between Azerbaijan and the European Union. However, while the Caucasian country can be a reliable source of energy and transport for Europe, it must also take into account its strong neighbors Russia and Iran, and the conflicting views between them and the West.
Featured photo via Pexels