The US-EU Energy Council on Wednesday, April 4, stressed the importance of Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) and the Southern Gas Corridor for the regional energy system.

The council brought together United States and European Union officials, with options to boost regional interconnectivity in Southeast Europe being a key part of the agenda. It was co-chaired by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, US Secretary of State John Kerry, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moritz, EU Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic, and EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete. IGB is expected to become operational by mid-2018. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals should be built in Croatia and Greece in case of strong demand. Before the meeting, options to increase LNG supplies from the US was announced as a key item on the agenda.

An interconnector between Poland and Lithuania should also be completed, the council believes. Participants in the May 03 meeting made clear it was unacceptable to use energy as a political tool, in an apparent reference to energy relations between Eastern Europe and Russia.

The Energy Council is a forum shaping out US-EU energy priorities and, more recently, looks into options to boost the clean energy transition in line with last year's agreements in Paris.