(3 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bucharest, Romania – 3 September 2024
1. Various of ministers from Romania, Hungary, Georgia and Azerbaijan signing energy agreement
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastian Burduja, Romanian Energy Minister:
“For us, this project is indeed a matter of national security. We do speak a lot about the need to diversify. As a matter of fact, if you look at the energy map of Europe over the past few months and over the past few days, even today, you see that, on the Eastern flank, essentially, we are paying a very high price recently and that’s because there is not enough diversification. The European market is not working sufficiently well. The cheaper sources of energy from the West do not always reach the East. And that’s why we need additional routes for security, for competitiveness. And of course this is a green corridor, so it is green energy as well."
3. Wide of audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Levan Davitashvili, Georgian Economy Minister:
“For us this is also very important because we are in a process of integration with the European Union. This means that we are overcoming these physical barriers and challenges that we are the only country on the other side of the Black Sea. We are not bordering EU countries but we are really the candidates who intend to be part of the European family one day. And so we have this very intensive agenda of approximating our policy with the European requirements and I suppose that with these priorities we will be ready to join the European Union very soon. But before that, we already managed to integrate in different sectors and I think that with this project, we can be part of the European energy market. So this is very significant for our country and for our agenda.”
5. Wide of audience
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijani Energy Minister:
“At the same time, let me point out that this project of the green energy, it solves many issues. It is important for the energy security, but at the same time it is going to provide the green energy. This is the issue which is very high on the agenda of the international community. And we will all gather again soon in Baku to discuss those issues. So I think that one of the important and very big contributions we can make to the climate change issues is the realization of this specific project.“
7. Reporter asking question
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister:
9. Various of ministers gathered for photographs
STORYLINE:
Romania, Hungary, Georgia and Azerbaijan launched a joint venture Tuesday to install a power line under the Black Sea aimed at bringing more renewable energy into the European Union from the eastern Caucasus.
The project, approved by leaders of the four countries in 2022, gained momentum after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and spotlighted the EU’s reliance on Russian energy as prices sharply rose. The 27-nation bloc has since pushed to wean itself off Russian energy.
The cable would link Azerbaijan, which is seen as having substantial potential to generate power at Caspian Sea wind farms, to EU members Romania and Hungary via Georgia.
Government ministers from the four countries launched the joint venture at a meeting Tuesday in Romania’s capital, saying the project would help strengthen energy security and drive down electricity prices for consumers.
Romania’s Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said the project was of strategic importance for his country and the EU.
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