News.AZ: Barroso: SCP construction from Azerbaijan to Europe 'our common priority'
In the light of events in Ukraine, there was an offer to stop "South Stream” project, do you think it is possible, how would you comment this offer?
The South Stream as any other energy project in the European Union needs to comply 100% with European rules on energy, competition, public procurement and so on. This was also emphasized in the recently adopted European Energy Security Strategy which calls for the South Stream project to be in full compliance with EU legislation. The European Commission is not per se against the South Stream project as such and has said it on many occasions. At the same time, this project is not a priority project as it does not diversify the sources of gas supply for Europe. The European Commission has raised doubts about the compatibility of the regulatory and organizational set-up of the South Stream project and related IGAs with EU law and expressed this to Member States concerned.
How do you estimate realization of Azerbaijan-EU common energy projects, are there any new ideas, can more agreements be signed between two sides?
After the successful completion of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in 2005, the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan to Europe has been our common priority in the energy sector in the last years. President Aliyev and myself have underlined this commitment when we signed – in January 2011 in Baku – the Joint Declaration on the Southern Gas Corridor. With the Final Investment Decision taken by the members of the Shah Deniz II Consortium in December 2013, the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor is being realized and will deliver at least 10bcm of gas from Azerbaijan to Europe before 2020.