Trans-Anatolian Pipeline

Ministers, ambassadors and envoys from at least 15 countries, including Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission’s Vice President for the Energy Union, are gathered today in the Azerbaijani capital to discuss the progress on the Southern Gas Corridor, the largest energy project the EU is currently pursuing.

But over the past couple of months, it seems the European Commission’s justifications for this controversial undertaking have been crumbling by the day.

Little left of human rights

With an ownership structure heavily influenced by Azerbaijan, the European Commission’s flagship energy project may end up being a costly piece of infrastructure that does not increase Europe’s energy security but offers a tool for political leverage to the authoritarian Aliyev regime.