European Union dreams of breaking dependence on Russia at the expense of Iranian gas

The EU hopes that in the future, gas imports from Iran will help reduce its dependence on Russia as a result of the lifting of sanctions against Tehran. The EU is betting on the so-called southern pipeline corridor to supply gas to southern Europe via Turkey from fields in Azerbaijan and neighboring countries, including Iran.

Europe is desperate to diversify its energy supply routes as relations between Ukraine and Russia are strained to the limit. The bloc's 28 nations depend on gas imports for more than half of their needs. About a third of imports come from Russia, with half of that going through a pipeline that crosses Ukraine, which is a good source of income for the country. But transit through Ukraine is becoming increasingly unpredictable as endless financial disputes between Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz take place.

At the same time, Gazprom seeks to end the supply of gas through Ukraine in 2019. After the cancellation of the South Stream project, the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project was launched, with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters, equal to transit through Ukraine. The Europeans will have to shoulder the costs of connecting to Turkey and lay the infrastructure needed to support the procurement. At the same time, the EU believes that the Turkish flow may not materialize.

Construction of a section of the pipeline that will carry gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey began last month, but plans for pipelines that will take gas through Greece and Albania to Italy are lagging far behind. A spokesman for the European Commission said that "Greece has expressed interest in the Turkish project, but no contract has been awarded."

Experts say Iranian and European gas interests converge if Iran strikes a deal in June with the US and five other powers to curb its nuclear program, but are cautiously optimistic. They say that "This is definitely an alternative, but Europeans have to be very careful not to put all their eggs in the Iranian basket."