EU Gas Supply Security

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirja Schröder
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Caspian Region ◽  
Critical Geopolitics ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Geopolitical Discourse ◽  
Gas Supply

Analysing the geopolitical vision of EU external energy policy, exemplified by the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), this study places emphasis on how geopolitical discourse and thinking have influenced EU policymaking. It starts from the dominant view that the Russia–Ukraine gas crises have caused energy security to be featured highly on the EU’s agenda. Accordingly, the European Commission has outlined different measures to ensure supply security, one of which is the diversification of routes and sources through the Caspian region. Taking up the conceptual perspective of critical geopolitics, the book analyses the European Commission’s geopolitical reasoning. It observes that the proposed policy solution of diversifying gas supply and routes through the SGC has turned into a publicly accepted narrative in Commission discourse.

EU Climate and Energy Policy: A Hesitant Supranational Turn?

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jørgen Wettestad ◽  
Per Ove Eikeland ◽  
Måns Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Regional Energy ◽  
Climate And Energy Policy

This article examines the recent changes of three central EU climate and energy policies: the revised Emissions Trading Directive (ETS); the Renewables Directive (RES); and internal energy market (IEM) policy. An increasing transference of competence to EU level institutions, and hence “vertical integration,” has taken place, most clearly in the case of the ETS. The main reasons for the differing increase in vertical integration are, first, that more member states were dissatisfied with the pre-existing system in the case of the ETS than in the two other cases. Second, the European Commission and Parliament were comparatively more united in pushing for changes in the case of the ETS. And, third, although RES and IEM policies were influenced by regional energy security concerns, they were less structurally linked to and influenced by the global climate regime than the ETS.

China’s External Energy Security: Energy Trade and Investment Along the ‘Belt and Road’

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 195-220
Author(s):  
Anatole Boute
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Energy Trade ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
The Belt And Road

Abstract As the world’s largest energy consumer, China’s energy security policies have significant implications for global, regional and national energy governance. However, the legal dimension of China’s external energy security remains understudied, with most attention in the energy law literature focused on EU and US energy security. This Special Issue studies the legal aspects of Chinese external energy cooperation by focusing on energy trade and investment under the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ – the Chinese foreign policy concept aiming to promote regional and global economic integration through infrastructure interconnectivity. Three research questions govern the Special Issue. How does China’s external energy policy rely on, and impact on, regional and global energy market governance? How does China seek to protect its foreign energy investments? How does China’s external energy policy impact on host countries’ energy and investment laws?

scholarly journals Forming the European Union Common External Energy Policy: Key Events and Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 39-48
Author(s):  
O. Yudina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
The Eu

Received 08.05.2020. Energy has always been of particular importance to the European Union. Meanwhile, up to the beginning of the 21st century, this area had been in exclusive competence of member states, with timid attempts of the European Commission (EC) to receive part of the powers in the energy sphere. The article is devoted to the issues of the EU common external energy policy development that was accompanied by a dichotomy of interests between the member-states, which hardly like the idea of the energy sector communitarisation, and the European Commission, which has been the main driver of supranationalisation of the energy sphere for a long period of time. The author characterizes the main achievements towards the EU common external energy policy, including the law regarding the export of energy to neighboring non-member countries through various organizations, such as the Energy Community, the Eastern Partnership, MEDREG, and launching of the European Energy Union (EEU) in 2015. Special attention is paid to external factors that facilitated the enhancement of the European Commission’s role in the energy sphere. The new era for the EU common external energy policy started in 2015 with the EEU and energy security as one of its priority, partly due to the gas crises and political tension between the European Union and Russia. It is noted that the EEU has facilitated the adoption of some EC’s legal proposals that could not be adopted for a long time, such as the mechanism of consultations on new intergovernmental contracts. In general, the creation of the Energy Union should certainly be seen as strengthening the supranational energy competences of the European Commission. It is concluded that the European Commission has made a significant progress towards a common external energy policy, strongly supported by the public opinion that the European Union should speak one voice with third countries. Despite the lack of legally supported competencies in energy for the EC, it gained authority in different directions of the EU energy policy development. Under these circumstances, the common energy market that has led to energy interdependent of the member states, forces them to cooperate at a supranational level. The author argues that third countries should clearly understand the dynamic and processes of communitarisation of the energy sphere and adopt their cooperation with the European Union based on this knowledge.

scholarly journals Five Years of the EU Energy Union: Myth or Reality?

2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-199
Author(s):  
Olga Yudina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Management System ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Energy Field ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
The Eu

The article analyzes the results of the EU Energy Union activities from 2015 to 2019 and its contribution to the shaping of the European Union common energy policy. The significance of the activities of the EU Energy Union in promoting a common energy policy is considered in three dimensions: external, internal and in the field of establishing a management system. The author notes a huge increase in the influence of the European Commission on the formation of EU common energy policy, the existence of contradictions between the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty and the actual powers of the European Commission in terms of energy, as well as the continuing dichotomy among the EU member states on the issue of energy communitarisation. It is indicated that the establishment of a clear and predictable management system for the EU Energy Union made a significant contribution to the strengthening of European Commission‟s energy authority. Concluding that the European Commission is doing its best in the formation of a common external energy policy, the author draws attention to the potential internal and external difficulties that the European Commission faces in pursuing a policy aimed at strengthening its powers in the energy field.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXTERNAL ENERGY POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

2013 ◽  
pp. 82-91
Author(s):  
N. Y. Kaveshnikov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regulatory Activity ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Regulatory Measures ◽  
The Eu

The article analyses development of external energy policy of the European Union (EU). In spite of the Lisbon treaty didn’t substantially expend EU powers in external energy policy, European Commission (EC) became more active in recent years. Decision on exchange of information about bilateral energy agreements between Member States (MSs) and third countries may deprive producers of opportunity to differentiate terms of infrastructure projects and energy supply in different MSs. European Commission participation in MSs negotiations with third countries as a guardian of energy market provisions will inevitably increase negotiation power of MSs. Nevertheless, only smooth and modest extension of powers of the EC would be possible because of opposition of numerous countries which makes a search of consensus very difficult. Among priority activities of the EU external energy policy one could identify ‘export’ of energy market provisions in neighbor countries; diversification of suppliers and prioritization of politically selected supply routes; dramatic increase of regulatory activity at EU level. All these activities are partially successful, but they all have some shortages. Several EU legislative and regulatory measures risk to run counter to existing obligations of MSs.

The Southern Gas Corridor infrastructure project – implications for the energy security of the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-99
Author(s):  
Justyna Misiągiewicz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Caspian Region ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Field ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Infrastructure Project ◽  
The Eu

Nowadays, energy security is a growing concern in state foreignpolicy. Interdependency in the energy field is a very important dimensionof contemporary relations between states and transnational corporations.Energy security is becoming a key issue for the European Union (EU). TheUnion is one of the world’s fastest-growing energy markets and the biggestimporter of energy resources. For the foreseeable future, Europe’s energydependence will probably increase. Facing a shortage of energy, Europe isdependent on imports and the EU member states need to diversify their energysupplies. The Caspian region contains some of the largest undevelopedoil and gas reserves in the world. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, thenewly independent Caspian states became open to foreign investment. Thegrowing energy needs have given the EU a strong interest in developing tieswith energy-producing states in the Caspian region to build the necessarypipeline infrastructure. In this analysis, the pipeline infrastructure that exists orwill be built in the near future will be presented. The analysis will concentrateon routes transporting gas from the Caspian region and the most importantproblems and solutions in designing the midstream energy system in the region.The key aim of the article is to analyse the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC)infrastructure project, which will inevitably contribute to the EU’s energy securityinterest.

European Energy Security

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almas Heshmati ◽  
Shahrouz Abolhosseini
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
The European Union

This chapter reviews relevant literature on the current state and effectiveness of developing renewable energy on energy security in general, and on energy security in the European Union (EU) in particular. The chapter elaborates on primary energy import sources, possible alternatives, and how energy security is affected by the sources of supply. It also gives an analysis of the effects of the Ukrainian crisis, the isolation of Iran on diversification sources, and on European energy security. It examines EU’s energy policy, analyses the best motivation for a new energy policy direction within Europe, and suggests alternative solutions for enhanced energy supply security. The aim is to suggest suitable solutions for energy security in Europe through energy supply diversification. Supply diversification includes alternative energy corridors for reducing dependency on Russia as a supplier and enhancing the power generated by renewable energy sources under the European Union 2020 strategy.

scholarly journals The North-South Gas Corridor in the Context of Poland’s Gas Transmission System—A Perfect Opportunity to Diversify Gas Resources

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 7188
Author(s):  
Wiktor Hebda
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Coal Production ◽  
The North ◽  
System A ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
High Level ◽  
Huge Challenge ◽  
Gas Supply

The energy sector in Poland is currently calling for dynamic redevelopment and cleaner energy. This country is world famous for its high level of coal production, from which it does not want to retreat in the next two decades. For this reason, it is safer to gradually reduce the use of coal while increasing the consumption of gas and simultaneously developing green energy. However, the Polish gas sector is still dependent on Russian gas supplied through the Yamal gas pipeline. Taking into consideration Polish geopolitics, this state of affairs poses a huge challenge and a threat to Poland’s energy security. That is why the concept of the North-South Gas Corridor was introduced. It is intended to be a network of gas pipelines that connect the countries of Central and South Europe to two gas terminals (in Poland and Croatia), which will supply gas from a chosen source. This article presents the current condition of the gas sector in Poland. It focuses on the North-South Gas Corridor project and its impact on the energy security of Poland. An analysis of documents and field research shows that the North-South Gas Corridor provides Poland with an opportunity to diversify the sources and directions of gas supply over the next few years.

scholarly journals The Specific Features of the Contemporary Russian Foreign Energy Policy Shift in Modern Times

2015 ◽  
pp. 94-101
Author(s):  
E. S. Leonov
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Regional Energy ◽  
Policy Shift ◽  
Bilateral Cooperation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Eu

In recent years there has been brewing up a necessity in Russia to change direction of its external energy policy radically as a result of unconstructive and hugely politically charged approach of the EU - main and traditional partner of Russia - to settlement of fundamental issues in bilateral cooperation. First of all this refers to failed efforts to create regional energy security system, based on respective institutions and legal framework, by reason of unwillingness of the EU to respect the Russian standpoint as an exporter of energy resources. As a result, there is a legal vacuum today in energy cooperation between Russia and the EU, which they failed to fill. The current political crisis in Europe, which is caused by accession of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and events in Ukraine, has aggravated long-standing problems of energy partnership EU-Russia. At the same time active EU policy on diversification of energy sources and supply routes discredits peculiar role of Russia as EU key energy supplier. These factors have triggered a significant revision of Russian interests in favor of eastern direction. A new promising contract with China on 21 May 2014 and memorandum with Turkey on 1 December 2014 are the milestones of the present Russian eastern policy. Both contracts can disrupt power balance on the global energy market. The article deals with background and causes for the present Russian eastern activity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document