On February 6 and March 15, the European Investment Bank (EIB) allocated loan packages of €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) and €932 million ($1.14 billion) to complete the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor’s (SGC) two main segments, which will carry Caspian-basin natural gas from Azerbaijan to Southeastern Europe—respectively, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) (Eib.org, February 6; Azertag, March 17).

For the third time in a row, Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party have won the Hungarian elections with an overwhelming majority. The country's flailing opposition, which shares the blame, now faces an uncertain future.

xDominique Ristori, the Director General of the Directorate-General for Energy within the European Commission, has expressed its support for Ukraine's stance on construction of Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2.

Minister for Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhenis Kassymbek held a meeting with Lithuanian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Vytautas Naudužas.

The recent escalating violence across Syria, including allegations of chemical weapons use in a Damascus suburb, could have consequences so devastating they are “difficult to even imagine,” a United Nations envoy warned Monday, calling for unity among global powers to prevent a chain of events that could draw in actors far beyond the region.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to arrive in France on Sunday, where his host President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to halt lucrative weapons sales to the oil-rich kingdom because of its bombing campaign in Yemen.