Orban considers project to lay submarine cable under Black Sea vital

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called the project of laying an underwater cable to supply electricity from Transcaucasia to Europe vital.

Caliber.Az reports citing Georgian media that he made the statement at a briefing following talks with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in the city of Telavi.

"The European Union must realise that we will not implement the modernisation of the European energy system, and European economy without close cooperation with your country. Therefore, the Green Corridor infrastructure cooperation programme of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary is vitally important. This is a huge project for the EU, which will be a source of economic growth for many years for all member states," Orban said.

On December 17, 2022, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed in Bucharest an agreement on a strategic partnership for the construction of an underwater electric cable Black Sea Energy with a capacity of 1,000 MW and a length of 1,195 km. In June 2023, Bulgaria also announced joining the project. The cable will be intended for the supply of “green” electricity produced in Azerbaijan through Georgia and the Black Sea to Romania for subsequent transportation to Hungary and the rest of Europe.

The construction of the cable will take 3-4 years. The European Commission plans to provide funds for laying the cable, which will be the longest in the world.