EU study highlights Azerbaijan’s strategic importance in the energy sector

Abstract

The European Commission’s 2026 meta-study on energy connectivity across the Eastern Partnership, the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Central Asia provides a timely assessment of Brussels' view of the evolving energy architecture on its eastern flank. While framed as a high-level analytical exercise rather than a policy blueprint, the document implicitly highlights Azerbaijan as one of the few regional actors capable of contributing simultaneously to Europe’s short-term energy security and its longer-term decarbonization objectives.