Bankwatch statement on today’s EU Council decision about the ‘Energy Union’

Europe’s leaders have failed today to live up to their commitments and make the EU’s energy future more sustainable. The Commission’s ‘Energy Union’ strategy endorsed today by EU Heads of States prioritises new fossil fuel infrastructure at the expense of investments into energy savings and clean energy sources.

“One such project – a gigantic, USD 45 billion gas pipeline from the Caspian sea to Europe – is completely senseless, because Europe already has more gas import infrastructure than it needs. For the last ten years, gas demand in Europe has fallen, and the Commission’s own forecasts predict further decreases by 2050, so this mega-project will only be a white elephant.

“If the so-called Southern Gas Corridor plan does materialise and starts to pump gas from Azerbaijan, it will not address the security of supply questions that Europe seeks answers for as it distances itself from the import of Russian gas. Rather, the project will fuel the oppressive authoritarian regime of Ilham Aliyev and its abhorrent track record of human rights violations and complete disregard for democratic principles.

“Ultimately, while the EU has repeatedly pledged to spearhead global efforts in combating climate change, this kind of project commits the EU to a prolonged dependence on fossil fuels. Believing it offers Europe a sustainable energy future is nothing more than deception.”

For more on the false promise of this project, see the report Pipe Dreams: Why the Southern Gas Corridor will not reduce EU dependency on Russia published in January 2015:
https://bankwatch.org/publications/pipe-dreams-why-public-subsidies-lukoil-azerbaijan-will-not-reduce-eu-dependency-russia

Markus Trilling
EU Policy officer, CEE Bankwatch Network