The Impact of Policy on Europe's Choice of Gas Suppliers Amid Declining Demand: Clarifying Azerbaijan's Position

On January 27, European Union foreign ministers agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months and provided Hungary with guarantees for its energy security, without which Budapest had threatened to veto the extension of penalties against Russia.

On December 19, the European Parliament adopted a resolution addressing the repressions against civil society and independent media in Azerbaijan. The resolution stated that since 2023, the Azerbaijani government has systematically pressured civil society, political opposition, human rights defenders, the LGBTI+ community, and independent media, with these pressures intensifying ahead of the COP29 summit.

The export trunk gas pipeline Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod has recently garnered heightened global attention. This is not due to its rank among the top five longest pipelines in the world (spanning 4,451 km) but because it is the last operational pipeline through which Russia delivers gas to Europe. Its operation could cease on January 1, 2025.

As the potential halt to Russian gas transit through Ukraine approaches—scheduled for 5 a.m. Ukrainian time on January 1, 2025—effectively signaling the cessation of pipeline gas supplies from Russia to major EU economies in Central and Western Europe, EU nations and the newly updated European Commission (EC) leadership have intensified consultations on ensuring Europe's energy security.