Putin Must Be Having A Good Laugh, Leading Maltese EU Adviser Warns After Azerbaijan Deal Struck
Vladimir Putin must be having a “good laugh” at the European Commission’s decision to strike a gas deal with Azerbaijan, according to EU employment affairs adviser Stefano Mallia.
“What the European Commission has done here is unacceptable, we have moved from one dictator and into the arms of another one,” said Mallia, who is President of the Employers’ Group in the European Economic and Social Committee, an EU consultive body composed of social partners.
Mallia criticised European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen for describing Azerbaijan as a key and reliable partner when announcing the deal.
“Did the EC President ask about human rights there? Did she ask about the rule of law there? Maybe she asked about this while signing the agreement?” he questioned.
“Is the EC President aware that Freedom House have Azerbaijan 9 out of 100 in terms of freedom? This is a major mistake, Putin must be having a good laugh. The agreement should be withdrawn.”
The new Azeri deal will double the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor – linking Azerbiajan to Europe to deliver at least 20 billion cubic metres of natural gas to the EU annually by 2027.
Although the deal is intended to help phase out the EU’s reliance on Russian gas for its energy needs, it will still amount to a fraction of the gas the bloc imports from Russia, which is estimated at 155bcm a year.
International anti-corruption group Transparency International has criticised the deal, reminding the public of an OCCRP investigation which found the Azerbaijani government had allegedly used a US$2.9bn slush fund for bribes to suppress human rights reports, finance fake election observation missions and launder the ruling Azeri elite’s reputation.
Dear @vonderleyen,
As you move to reduce energy dependence on 🇷🇺 Russia’s kleptocratic regime, you cannot ignore that so recently 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan’s ruling elite was exposed as buying influence from European politicians to earn a “trustworthy” image.Please read this⬇️ https://t.co/maCtOHVQHd
— Transparency International (@anticorruption) July 19, 2022
“In 2018, the European Parliament recommended that future deals include provisions for Azerbaijan to fight corruption and dirty money, explicitly supporting investigations into the Azeri Laundromat,” it noted. “We understand that the European Commission is currently negotiating a new comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan to enhance cooperation.”
“But we now know that misplaced faith in corrupt regimes does not end well. There should be no deal without guarantees that corruption and human rights abuses will be meaningfully addressed.”
The European Commission’s deal has also raised eyebrows locally considering the ongoing controversy over the Electrogas power station, which is run by a consortium that include Azeri state-owned company Socar.
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has argued that the EU’s new deal lends more credence to the power station deal, although PN MEP David Casa has counter-argued that, unlike the Maltese deal with Azerbaijan, the EU deal is fully transparent.
Do you agree with the EU’s new Azeri deal?
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