Ursula von der Leyen visits Azerbaijan and Armenia to boost EU energy and infrastructure ties

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel next week to Baku on 1 July and then to Yerevan to deepen the EU’s strategic partnership with Azerbaijan and Armenia. In Baku she will meet President Ilham Aliyev to discuss expanding Azerbaijani gas supplies – a pillar of EU‑Azerbaijan relations that now serves 16 European countries, including Italy as the biggest importer – and to advance regional infrastructure projects under the EU’s Middle Corridor initiative.

The visit follows the 2022 EU‑Azerbaijan strategic energy pact and the recent peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno‑Karabakh. EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos, who is accompanying von der Leyen, launched a new Connectivity Agenda platform, highlighting more than €80 million already mobilised and a target of over €2 billion for transport, energy and digital projects along the corridor. The mission aims to diversify Europe’s energy sources away from Russia, improve trade routes between Europe and Asia, and strengthen defence, security and digital cooperation in the South Caucasus.