Romania, Hungary, Georgia and Azerbaijan launch project to install power line under Black Sea

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania, Hungary, Georgia and Azerbaijan launched a joint venture Tuesday to install a power line under the Black Sea, a move aimed at bringing more renewable energy from the eastern Caucasus to the European Union.

The project, approved by the leaders of the four countries in 2022, gained momentum after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and put the EU’s reliance on Russian energy on the spotlight as prices soared. The 27-nation bloc has been pushing to wean itself off Russian energy ever since.

The cable is to connect Azerbaijan, which has great potential for generating energy from wind farms in the Caspian Sea, with EU member states Romania and Hungary, via Georgia.

Government ministers from the four countries launched the joint venture at a meeting on Tuesday in the Romanian capital, saying the project would help strengthen energy security and reduce electricity prices for consumers.

Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said the project was of strategic importance for his country and the EU.

“If we look at the energy map of Europe over the last few months… we see that on the eastern flank we have been paying a very high price recently — and that is because there is not enough diversification,” Burduja said.

Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said the use of renewable energy would help solve climate change problems. The submarine line is important for energy security, he said, “but at the same time it will provide green energy … which is very high on the international community’s priority list.”

Bulgaria’s deputy energy minister also joined Tuesday’s meeting, and discussions were also held on the EU member state’s accession to the infrastructure project. Burduja and Shahbazov said the next meeting on the project would be at the UN climate change meeting in Azerbaijan later this year.