Political

Home page

Political

Azerbaijan: An increasingly important partner for both Germany and European Union

15 March 2023 21:24 (UTC +04:00)

The war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year, has exposed the weaknesses of the energy security architecture on which the European Union (EU) has relied for decades. Although the sanctions imposed against the backdrop of the war are aimed at Moscow, they have also affected the continental economy, especially its energy sector, to a lesser extent. The contradiction between the decisions taken in the common interests of the EU and the national interests of some member states has led to disputes reaching the political and diplomatic level.

The European Union is introducing new sanctions against Russia and its partners, and on the other hand, is trying to curb its energy needs, seeking to compensate for the energy shortage by shrinking the economy. All these are only temporary measures for the capitalist countries of the world, accustomed to continuous growth. With these temporary measures, developed European countries intend to save time and diversify their energy resources.

In this sense, the EU considers a number of regions as partners in strengthening energy security, diversifying sources of energy supply, and reducing cooperation with old partners in order to minimize potential threats.

It is no secret that the EU has long considered the energy potential of the Caspian Basin as one of its most important alternatives. This is one of the reasons why such large energy projects as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, TANAP, TAP and others, implemented on the initiative of Baku over the past period, received unconditional support from the EU.

Although some countries, under various pretexts and provocations, tried to prevent the implementation of the mentioned projects, their completion became possible thanks to the political will shown by official Baku. In general, the importance of the work done by Azerbaijan over the past decades towards strengthening global energy security is especially noticeable in times of crises like the current one.

Under the current conditions, the vital importance of Azerbaijan's energy resources for the EU is growing. Official Baku already intends to export to Europe not only hydrocarbon resources, but also "green energy" and demonstrated the seriousness of its intentions in this area by signing the Strategic Partnership Agreement in December last year in Bucharest.

The EU knows very well from the experience of partnership with Azerbaijan in the energy sector that all projects initiated by Baku in the energy sector are sooner or later implemented and begin to bear fruit. Therefore, the European Union already recognizes that Azerbaijan is a reliable energy partner.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has repeatedly called Azerbaijan a reliable energy partner, and these are not just statements made to please someone, they are based on serious work during the period of independence, conscientiousness and diligence of the Azerbaijani government, its political will, ability to plan and other qualities.

The working visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Germany, his meetings with the President and Head of the Government of Germany during the visit were in the focus of attention of the leading German and international press.

The Deutsche Welle, Süddeutsche Zeitung, CNN Türk, Anadolu agency and other media published articles on the meeting of President Ilham Aliyev with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's statements during the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Germany are another proof that the EU perceives Azerbaijan as a reliable energy partner.

It is no coincidence that at a joint press conference with President Ilham Aliyev, Olaf Scholz called Azerbaijan "an increasingly important partner for the European Union and Germany."

Stating that Azerbaijan has the potential to diversify energy supplies to Germany and Europe, Scholz cited alternative energy in this area along with oil and gas as an example.

These statements by Scholz also showed that, despite the resolutions and statements of representatives of some EU institutions that are mired in corruption, there is a common understanding that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner in the union.

The country's leadership also does not hide its interest in strengthening the energy partnership with the EU. In fact, the initiative to implement energy projects, the importance of which is now rapidly growing for the EU, was also in many cases put forward by official Baku. Against the backdrop of all these projects, the Azerbaijani economy is already rapidly integrating into the European economy.

It should be noted that the growing economic importance of Azerbaijan simultaneously increases its geopolitical weight and determines its political success in the international arena.

In this regard, the statement of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations should be decided on the basis of the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty can be considered in this context.