Acting Minister of Economy Karel Hirman signed a memorandum of understanding between gas carriers Bulgartransgaz, Transgaz, FGSZ, eustream and SOCAR in Sofia, Bulgaria. In addition to the Ministry of Economy (MOE) of the Slovak Republic, the participants are also the ministries of energy of Bulgaria, Romania, Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, the MOE reported on Tuesday.
By signing the memorandum, according to the Ministry of Economy, the participating countries are sending a signal that they are ready to create a new corridor for the import of natural gas to Europe and to cooperate with partners in Azerbaijan in doubling their gas exports to the EU.
"I would like to express the full support of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic to the initiative of our transmission system operators to implement a new corridor from Azerbaijan to Central and Eastern Europe. It has the potential to significantly contribute to increasing the security of gas supplies in the region, and thus also in the entire EU," emphasized Hirman. The minister believes that the EU will evaluate the project positively and will support this effort politically and financially.
Hirman also participated in the "Green Energy for the Future" conference in Sofia. In this context, the Minister stated that we are currently living in an important transitional period, when the decarbonized future is still far away, but the traditional energy environment is already changing. "New energy partnerships are encouraged, as confirmed by the signing of the memorandum of understanding this morning. Therefore, cooperation is also crucial in maintaining a pragmatic and non-ideological debate, especially regarding the future use of gas and nuclear energy," he said.
Another topic was the EU's climate goals, which he said would be difficult to achieve. However, the cost of producing energy from renewable sources has fallen significantly in recent decades. This trend is expected to continue and the share of energy from renewable sources in the energy mix will increase, which will go hand in hand with the electrification of transport and industry.
(TASR)
