BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The leaders of Hungary, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan on Saturday signed an agreement on a submarine electricity connection that could become a new source of energy for the European Union amid a war-induced energy scarcity in Ukraine.
The agreement includes a cable that runs under the Black Sea and connects Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania.
The deal comes as Hungary, which has lobbied heavily against EU sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, is seeking additional fossil fuel resources to reduce its heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Azerbaijan plans to export electricity from offshore wind farms to Europe via Georgia, a cable under the Black Sea, and then to Romania and Hungary.
The office of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement Friday that the agreement between the four nations will provide the “financial and technical framework” for the submarine power cable project.
The project aims to diversify energy supplies and increase regional energy security, the statement said.
On Friday, Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz also said it has signed a contract with Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR to receive natural gas through the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, with deliveries starting January 1. strategic objectives” of diversifying natural gas resources.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in August that Azerbaijan would soon produce “large amounts of green power” from offshore wind farms, and that by joining the connector project that could bring that energy to Europe, Hungary would requirement met that two EU member states take part to ensure that the investment receives funding from the bloc.
Szijjarto said the project could be completed in three or four years and would be an important step towards diversifying energy supplies and meeting carbon neutrality targets.
This week, Szijjarto met with officials from both Qatar and Oman about possible future imports of oil and natural gas to Hungary from the two Middle Eastern countries, a further sign that Hungary is taking steps to reduce the 85% of its natural gas and more than 60% of its oil it currently receives from Russia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Romanian President Iohannis, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended the signing event in Bucharest on Saturday.
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Spike reported from Budapest. Stephen McGrath in Bucharest contributed.
