François-Xavier Bellamy calls for “going much further” in sanctions against Azerbaijan after its offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh. He wants to put an end to gas imports by Europe from this country.
Two weeks after Azerbaijan’s military offensive in the Armenian-majority separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, and while the European Parliament denounces “ethnic cleansing”, the head of the European deputies Les Républicains asks to go “much further” in European support for Armenia, in an interview on France Inter on Thursday October 5.
François-Xavier Bellamy calls for an end to natural gas exports from Azerbaijan to Europe. He assures that it is possible because, according to him, it does not represent much: “We import a very small part of the gas we need from Azerbaijan. Let’s try to do without this gas frankly, it’s 2% of the European supply, we will have plenty to import it from elsewhere.”
2% of European gas consumption… before the war in Ukraine
But this is no longer entirely true. The estimate given by MEP LR dates from before the war in Ukraine. Since then, things have changed a little. In 2021, Azerbaijan delivered 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas to European Union countries. This in fact represented around 2% of its total gas consumption – whether produced in the EU or imported – estimated at 412 billion cubic meters in total in the year, according to the European Council.
The following year, after the start of the Russian offensive on Ukraine, the European Union found itself in a delicate situation because Russia was its main supplier of natural gas. To gain independence from the Russians, the EU increased its imports from other countries, including Azerbaijan.
3.5% of European gas consumption in 2022
Natural gas imports from Azerbaijan ultimately amounted to 12 billion cubic meters in 2022. At the same time, European natural gas consumption saw a decline “historical”as reported The gallery, reaching 353 billion cubic meters according to Cedigaz, the international association for gas information. The share of Azerbaijani gas was therefore proportionally increased even more. Last year, gas imported from Azerbaijan ultimately accounted for 3.5% of total natural gas consumption in the EU.
And this volume is supposed to double to reach 20 billion cubic meters by 2027. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen went to Baku last July to sign an agreement to this effect.
Not an “essential” supplier
3.5% is still little. Anna Créti, economist specializing in natural gas, explains to franceinfo that Azerbaijan is not a supplier “essential” European countries but second line, knowing that the EU imports around 80% of the gas it consumes. According to the latest Eurostat figures published in September 2023, Azerbaijan is the 5th country exporting natural gas to the European Union, far behind Norway, the United Kingdom, Algeria or even another year and a half after the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia.
It would be possible, according to the specialist, to replace Azerbaijani gas with Algerian gas. But, to sever these commercial relations, a decision must be taken at the level of each European state which buys its gas in Azerbaijan. France is not one of the countries most affected. In 2021, it was only the 27th customer of Azerbaijan’s energy exports, natural gas and oil combined, according to a note from the General Directorate of the Treasury.