A report looking into human rights abuse in Azerbaijan may have been rejected to smooth the way for gas trading with Europe, its author has said.<\/p>\n The report was voted down in the Council of Europe on 23 January 2013. On 28 June of the same year, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to a pipeline joining Azerbaijan with southern Italy, known as the Southern Gas Corridor. On 11 August, the Italian prime minister Enrico Letta visited the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev in Baku<\/a>.<\/p>\n German Social Democrat Christoph Strasser, who wrote the report when he was his country\u2019s human rights commissioner, said: \u201cI would be surprised if there wasn\u2019t a connection between these events. By rejecting my report Azerbaijan saved its reputation and nobody had nothing to say when they started doing business [in Europe].\u201d<\/p>\n Strasser was speaking to Italy\u2019s RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) programme \u201cReport\u201d, for the Caviar Democracy episo which aired on 21 November 2016.<\/p>\n The report was rejected under unusual circumstances, according to some observers. Several MPs, including Armenia\u2019s Naira Karapetyan, noted that a number of new faces from Russia, Turkey, Spain and Italy were present on the board for the first time \u2013 to vote down the report \u2013 and were never seen again at the Council of Europe.<\/p>\n Strasser reported political pressure from the Azerbaijani government, who denied him the visa to enter the country while he was researching for his report. \u201cIt was the first time that an MP tasked with writing a report was denied access [to a relevant country]\u201d he said.<\/p>\n What is the Southern Gas Corridor?<\/strong><\/p>\n BP calls it<\/a> \u201carguably the global oil and gas industry\u2019s most significant and ambitious undertaking yet\u201d. It is a three part pipeline that, if completed, will carry gas from the Shah Deniz 2 oil field in Azerbaijan\u2019s Caspian Sea through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania into southern Italy.<\/p>\n The pipeline is supposed to reduce the EU\u2019s dependence on Russian gas. Campaigners argue that it is likely to become a stranded asset as gas demand in Europe is predicted to remain stagnant<\/a>. Many have raised concerns about deepening Europe\u2019s financial and political cooperation with the autocratic Aliyev regime.<\/p>\n Total cost: Estimated at US$45bn<\/p>\n Timeframe: Construction is underway, due to be completed by 2020<\/p>\n Sections:<\/p>\n South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) \u2013 Azerbaijan, Georgia Ownership: At least 11 different companies are involved in the corporate ownership structures of the various sections. Major players include BP, Azerbaijan\u2019s state oil company SOCAR, Turkish Petroleum, Petronas, Lukoil, Total and Snam.<\/p>\n Public finances: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank<\/a>, Asian Development Bank<\/a> and World Bank<\/a> are all considering publicly-backed loans for the development in excess of $500m each.<\/p>\n Elkhan Suleymanov, a friend of the Azerbaijani prime minister and head of the country\u2019s delegation within the Council of Europe wrote a letter to the German parliament claiming that Strasser was a liar. \u201cThe German parliament answered firmly, also issuing an appeal to to the Azerbaijani government to allow me in the country where I could monitor the situation of political prisoners. But that didn\u2019t help,\u201d Strasser said.<\/p>\n An estimated 100 people are in jail for their opinions in Azerbaijan, the documentary reported. Even a like on a Facebook post criticising the government can get someone into deep trouble.<\/p>\n \u201cStraight after the vote, Suleymanov stood up and shouted \u2018You see, this is not Mr Strasser\u2019s Council of Europe, this is Azerbaijan\u2019s Council of Europe!\u2019\u201d Strasser recalled.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s Keystone XL:<\/strong> Planned gas pipeline is reckless<\/a><\/p>\n The Italian MP Luca Volont\u00e9, who was part of the Azerbaijani lobby group who voted against the report, is accused of corruption and money laundering in relation to the project. He is being investigated by Italian prosecutors under suspicion of taking a \u20ac2.4 million bribe from the Azerbaijani government, to support its cause at a European level.<\/p>\n Samuel Farmanyan, an Armenian MP, said: \u201cWhen I started working with the Europe People\u2019s Party I realised that within the Council of Europe there was a lobby group that was spreading like a metastasis. The group was headed by Luca Volonte\u2019 and Pedro Agramunt, a Spanish MP\u201d. Farmanyan is \u201cAbsolutely certain\u201d that the Azerbaijani lobby paid for the support of its allies.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/covcasbulletin-info.hhd.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Covcas-Italy-TAP-Ilva-steelworks-credit-Flickr-Mafe-de-Baggis.jpg\")
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\nTrans Anatolian Pipeline (Tanap) \u2013 Turkey
\nTrans Adriatic Pipeline (Tap) \u2013 Greece, Albania, Italy<\/p>\n