Green energy deal

An underwater cable transporting green energy through the Black Sea to the EU will be built by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania. According to Romanian authorities, a feasibility study is due to complete by next autumn. The 1,200-km power cable will take six years to build. An agreement in this respect was signed in Bucharest, in the presence of European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. The document reflects the interests of the four states for consolidating national and regional energy security and ensuring interconnectivity in the Black Sea region, diversifying own supply sources, capitalizing on the Caspian Sea's potential of producing renewable energy and increasing the share of renewable energy at national level, the Presidency reports. The agreement on creating a Strategic Partnership in the field of developing and transporting energy is a "crucial" and "ambitious" document that will seriously help strengthen energy security at European level and will boost regional cooperation, Romania's president, Klaus Iohannis, said. "Given the current security context caused by the military aggression in Ukraine, we should enhance our cooperation and display more solidarity in overcoming current challenges. This agreement provides a framework for long-term cooperation between our countries in a number of essential fields, such as producing, transporting and trading energy trading, also helping develop new infrastructure projects, including an underwater power cable in the Black Sea, and later projects targeting green hydrogen and energy efficiency", Klaus Iohannis went on to say. In turn, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the importance of this project.

"The Black Sea electric cable is a new transmission route full of opportunities. This project could bring Georgia, a country with a European destiny, great benefits as well. It could transform the country into an electricity hub and integrate it in the EU internal electricity market. Finally, the Black Sea electric cable could also help bring electricity to our neighbors in Moldova and the Western Balkans".

The president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said his country would become a major provider of electricity for Europe, while the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili also stated his country is willing to cooperate to ensure European states can receive supplies of green energy. In turn, Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, said that the time when Europe imported cheap energy and raw materials from Russia is now over, and that new sources of renewable energy must be identified. Romania is committed to investing in energy production and infrastructure, Romania's Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă said in turn. The agreement was signed in response to an urgent need to boost the share of green energy and energy security, and Romania will play a key role as a transit country, offering alternative routes to neighbors and EU partners, the Romanian official further said.