China News Agency, Brussels, July 15 (Reporter De Yongjian) In the face of the increasingly severe natural gas supply situation, the European Union announced on the 15th that European Commission President Von der Leyen and Energy Affairs Commissioner Simsun will visit the South Caucasus country Azerbaijan, seeking Strengthen energy cooperation.
According to the announcement issued by the European Commission on the same day, on July 18, von der Leyen and Simsun will hold a meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev, after which Simsun will co-chair the EU meeting with Azerbaijani Energy Minister Shakhbazov. - Azerbaijan Energy Dialogue.
The announcement stated that the realization of energy import diversification is the top priority of the EU at present, and in the gas supply of the EU, the "Southern Gas Corridor", an energy cooperation project jointly promoted by the EU, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries, plays a central role, especially for Southeast Europe. country.
The "Southern Natural Gas Corridor" refers to the use of trans-Anatolia, trans-Adriatic and other natural gas pipelines to import natural gas from the Shaadniz oilfield in the Caspian Sea of Azerbaijan into Europe, thereby expanding the natural gas supply channels in Europe; after several years Construction, the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline was put into operation in November 2020, and Azerbaijan began to supply gas to the European market.
The announcement of the European Commission shows that in addition to the "Southern Natural Gas Corridor", the EU also hopes to strengthen cooperation with Azerbaijan in the fields of clean energy and energy efficiency. At the same time, the two sides are negotiating a comprehensive cooperation agreement, covering economic diversification, investment, trade, civil organizations and so on.
On the 15th, when the European Union issued its visit announcement, according to the Azerbaijan State News Agency, Azerbaijani President Aliyev met with the European Union's special representative for South Caucasus affairs. opinion.
This week, with the closure of Nord Stream-1, Russia's main natural gas pipeline to Europe, for maintenance, the outside world has become more concerned about the supply of natural gas to the EU.
Previously, the EU had "requested assistance" from Israel, Egypt and other countries, but due to its high dependence on Russian natural gas supply, it is difficult to find new gas sources or reduce consumption to make up for the supply and demand gap in the short term.
On the other hand, the European Economic Summer Outlook report released by the European Union on the 14th warned that the future economic development and inflation of the European Union will largely depend on the supply situation of natural gas.
If natural gas prices usher in a new round of increases, it will not only curb the EU's economic growth and push up the inflation rate, but may also lead to further tightening of the EU's financing environment and affect the EU's financial stability.
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