Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Acting Director David Koranyi co-writes for the Huffington Post on the revitalization of the Southern Gas Corridor in response to Russian aggression as a possible solution to EU energy independence:
The Ukraine crisis has once again trumpeted European vulnerability brought by over-dependence on Russian gas. Russian aggression, added to its gas supply posturing and actions more akin to blackmail than trade, demonstrate that it cannot be considered a reliable partner in developing mutual energy security. Indeed, at their meeting in late March 2014, European leaders concluded that efforts to reduce Europe’s high gas energy dependency rates should be intensified and asked the European Commission to propose by this June a comprehensive plan for growing EU energy independence. Yet already running along Russia’s soft underbelly is one of Europe’s best options for natural gas diversification: the Southern Corridor.
The corridor is a series of already operating, planned, and prospective pipelines stretching from the natural gas and oil-rich Caspian Sea to European and global markets. From production to distribution, the commercial projects that comprise the Southern Corridor bring stunning strategic benefits for the United States and Europe already in its current form. Its first planned major extension to continental Europe will supply only about two percent of the EU’s gas consumption from 2019, hardly a silver bullet in supply diversification. With modest extra efforts though, the corridor could become a truly vital part of Europe’s gas diversification strategy.