THE IMPORT OF THE NATURAL GAS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ENERGY POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The paper examines the role of the supply of the natural gas from the Republic of Azerbaijan to the EU in the energy policy of the latter as well as its main importers in the EU – Italy, Bulgaria and Greece for the period starting from 2022. While EU keeps diversifying natural gas and oil supply and seeks to reduce its dependence on the import of gas from Russia, Republic of Azerbaijan remains as an additional but not the main supplier of the natural gas to the European Union. The significance of the alternative natural gas exporters increased for the EU since the European Union decided to halt Russian gas supplies following the start of the Special Military Operation of Russia in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The diversification in the energy policy of the European Union and its individual member states (Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece) as the main importers of Azerbaijani natural gas is compared with the actual volumes of its import from 2022 to 2025 in relation to other suppliers. The author uses the discourse analysis of official documents of the EU and its aforementioned member states, official documents of the Republic of Azerbaijan and bilateral documents on the energy policy. Based on the analysis of the statistical data of the Eurostat, the European Commission and the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan the volumes and share of Azerbaijani natural gas in the European Union’s natural gas import as well as their dynamics for 2022–2025 are identified. The prospects for the further import of Azerbaijani natural gas for 2026–2027 are identified taking into account that both the EU and the Republic of Azerbaijan are interested in its doubling. The author concludes that the intensified cooperation in the sphere of energy is of the high political importance for both sides despite the lack of clear economic prospects for increasing Azerbaijani natural gas import in the coming years. Constraining factors include the low growth rate of the natural gas production in the country and the lack of clarity regarding the timeframe for the investment in order to expand the capacity of the gas transportation infrastructure.

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