Trend: Does Europe want Azerbaijan’s involvement in energy security?
Today, Europe gives a crucial place to the energy security in its energy policy and seeks to provide alternative sources of hydrocarbon supplies. However, the European media reports disseminated on Nov. 6 casts doubt on the sincerity of European politicians.
Deutsche Welle, said Nov. 6 that the EU’s antimonopoly authority started to check the impending deal on the Azerbaijani State Oil Company’s (SOCAR) acquisition of the Greek gas transportation operator DESFA.
The European officials fear that the competition level in Greece’s gas market will decrease. The antimonopoly authority must render its decision in late March 2015.
For the most part, the tender held for the purchase of share in DESFA is a story with a sequel. And the main actors of this story are the Russian company Gazprom, which is the real supplier of gas to Europe, as well as the SOCAR – the expected gas supplier.