EU’s energy cooperation with Central Asia and South Caucasus: stronger partnership through new avenues?

Date: Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Time: 10:00 - 17:15
Venue: FES EU Office, Rue du Taciturne 38, 1000 Bruxelles
Format: expert discussion
Language: English
Please register via this link.

The event will take place in person.

EU’s relations with the South Caucasus and Central Asia have always been complex. While Europe’s engagement with the region has evolved through different political and economic initiatives over the past decades, significant influence on the ground could barely be seen. However, nowadays the situation is changing. The geopolitical shifts caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the fierce trade and technology competition between the US and China, and the acceleration of energy transition and access to critical raw materials have made Europe reassess its principles of sovereignty and strategic autonomy, and therefore, to step up its commitment to the region. What has concretely changed in the EU’s approach? How are the partners on the ground evaluating this ambition to intensify the cooperation? How attractive and what are the concrete benefits for them when it comes to cooperation with Europe, in comparison to China’s approach for example? How feasible is this ambition, considering the geopolitical fluctuations and internal political challenges when we look at the partner countries in the region? How to ensure that the necessary infrastructure will be cost-effectively put in place and delivered on time? And last, but not least, are these “partnerships on equal terms” (established between Europe and the countries in the region), as described by the EU, really equal? These are the key questions that will guide the debates during this event.

Programme

10.00 – 10.10 – Welcome and introduction to the event by Claudia Detsch, Director of FES Competence Centre Just Climate

10.15 – 11.15 Panel 1: Overview of the current state of affairs by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, Managing Director at the European Neighbourhood Council (ENC)

The political dialogue with Central Asia and the South Caucasus countries has been stimulated over the past two years through the signing of several Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and organisation of high-level meetings between the leaders of the region countries and the EU. This intensification of high-level contacts shows the region's growing geostrategic importance. Political commitments have been set. But how can these be materialised in light of the ongoing geopolitical labyrinth? How to ensure that concrete projects will be delivered on the ground? What are the risks and trade-offs in this sense? What is the region’s key interest and how to meet the expectations of partners?

11.15 – 12.00 Q&A with the audience

12.00 – 13.00 – Lunch

13.00 – 14.30 Panel 2: Identifying the missing links in hydrogen cooperation and the path forward

The EU aims to import 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030. To meet this goal, the EU considers the potential of South Caucausus and Central Asia region to establish joint projects and help build green hydrogen production facilities. Nevertheless, this ambition is faced with a few practical impediments that might add complexity to the announced planning such as water scarcity, water security, and the lack of proper export links and infrastructure. How feasible in practical terms is this intention? How far are we in the development of pilot projects? What is the current strategy for export-oriented projects? How much investment is still needed to close the gaps? And how far-reaching the geopolitical implications are in the region when it comes to hydrogen production? In this session, we will address these key points and assess the progress so far.

Speakers:

• Stefano Signore, Head of Unit, Directorate-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission
• Elena Leonardi, Climate and Energy Manager at CEFIC  
• Armen Danielyan, Adjunct lecturer and researcher at Acopian Center for the Environment, American University of Armenia
• Giorgi Mukhigulishvili, Lead Researcher in Energy Security, Climate Change and Sustainability Issues at World Experience for Georgia think tank
• Aigerim Baimyrza, Expert at the Department of Alternative Energy, KMG Engineering LLP
• Ani Janukashvili, Deputy Director at Georgian Energy Development Fund

14.30 – 15.00 Q&A with the audience

15.00 – 15.15 – Coffee break

15.15 – 16.30 Panel 3: Critical Raw Materials – a new opening for prosperous cooperation?

Critical raw materials (CRM) are crucial for the EU’s energy transition and strategic autonomy. Moreover, the current geopolitical environment has made it clear that Europe must act on Chinese market dominance in the mining of CRM and technologies, like electric vehicles and solar panels. How the EU is going to counter and what specifically it can offer to partners from the region? Technology transfer, training, upskilling, and job opportunities with better working and income conditions, as well as extraction and processing on high ecological standards – these all sound appealing. Nevertheless, how to make sure that it can be delivered in practical terms, and will it be enough to balance the geopolitical influence of other actors in the region? How impactful the internal political (in)stability in the region will be on strategic projects that are aimed to be built in cooperation with the EU? In this session, we will discuss these points and assess the progress made so far.

Speakers:

• Robert Tomas, DG Grow, Policy Officer at European Commission
• Roman Vakulchuk, Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
• Ignacio Arroniz Velasco, Senior Policy Advisor on EU Climate Foreign Policy at E3G

16.30 – 17.00 Q&A with the audience

17.00 – 17.15 – Closing of the event and concluding remarks

Please register via the link.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Reghina.Dimitrisina(at)fes.de and about the logistics, please contact Silke.Lang(at)fes.de .

The briefing note Zoomin In On the outcomes of the “EU’s energy cooperation with Central Asia and South Caucasus: stronger partnership through new avenues?" can be read here.