Varhelyi: EU ready to work on energy transition in Western Balkans

Francisco Seco/Pool via REUTERS

Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on Friday that the European Union is ready to work with the Western Balkans on energy transition.

“We are ready to cooperate in energy transition in the Western Balkans: gas has key role in phasing out coal and the transition to decarbonised economies, Varhelyi wrote in a Twitter post from the eighth ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council in the Azeri capital Baku.

According to the Commissioner, the Southern Gas Corridor has “significant importance for Europe’s energy security, including its potential for extension to new markets such as Western Balkans”.

The Southern Gas Corridor is European Commission initiative launched in 2008 to secure a natural gas supply route from Azerbaijan to Europe intended to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas.