Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev met European Council President Antonio Costa in Baku to discuss energy cooperation, regional security and EU-Azerbaijan relations, according to a readout published on the Azerbaijani presidential website on March 11. The two sides reaffirmed plans to expand gas exports via the Southern Gas Corridor, advance the Black Sea undersea electricity cable and continue negotiations on a new comprehensive bilateral agreement.

Negotiations on a new comprehensive EU-Azerbaijan agreement date back to 2016, with formal talks commencing in 2017 to replace the 1999 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. In 2022, the sides signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic energy partnership that set a goal of doubling gas exports to the European Union to 20 billion cubic meters annually by 2027. The 3,500 kilometer (2,175 mile) Southern Gas Corridor currently delivers roughly 11 billion-12 billion cubic meters per year to the bloc through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and supplies 16 European countries. In 2025, Azerbaijan's total gas production increased by only about 2.4% year on year. The European Union has adopted legislation providing for a phased ban on Russian pipeline gas and LNG imports that will fully apply by late 2027.