Brussels, 30 April 2015: The proposals for a European Energy Union were presented by Slovak Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, a Vice-President of the European commission in charge of energy policy.
In an attempt to wean off Europe’s overwhelming dependence on Russian Gazprom, Commissioner Šefčovič said there would be a focus upon building a new “southern corridor” pumping gas from the Caspian basin to the EU member states via Turkey. It would carry Russian gas, but could also include supplies from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iraq and Iran. The southern corridor, entailing investment of $45bn (£29bn), “will be the biggest in world, and could be up and running by 2019”. The commissioner travelled to Ashgabat to meet with Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdimuhamedow concerning this project. Turkmenistan possesses the fourth largest gas reserves in the world.
Six EU member states are 100% dependent on Gazprom for gas, and the union as a whole is the world’s biggest importer of energy. According to commission figures, it spent €400bn (£294bn) last year importing 53% of its overall energy requirements.
Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete also mentioned the possibility of avoiding Russia altogether as transit country by building the pipe through Iran.
For more information
Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič: http://ec.europa.eu/en
Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete: http://ec.europa.eu/canete_en
