European Union's Energy (In)Security – Dependency on Russia
European Union's Energy (In)Security – Dependency on Russia

Author(s): Lenka Kovačovská
Subject(s): Energy and Environmental Studies, Environmental and Energy policy, International relations/trade
Published by: AMO – Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky
Keywords: European Union; energy security; Russian energy imports; natural gas dependency; common energy policy; member state sovereignty; external energy policy; transportation systems; international terrorism; energy supply interruptions;
Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explain this seemingly irrational behavior by finding out, why are the EU Member States so unwilling to give up their sovereignty in the sphere of energy and why is it so difficult to promote and carry out the Common Energy Policy of the European Union. The basic assumption of the paper is, that that it is the dependence on foreign energy that influences, to what extent a country is willing to transfer control over its energy policy to the EU level. To be able to confirm or disprove this assumption, partial questions have to be answered - Why is it important to discuss the energy security of the EU? Why are the Russian Federation´s current policies being considered as a threat to energy security of the EU? To what extent does the EU/ it´s member states depend on the imports from Russia? What are the differences in the energy dependency among the member states? Can different levels of energy dependency on Russia influence the attitude of the member states towards the Common Energy Policy of the EU? Why do the conflicts among the member states about securing the energy supplies arise (despite the Common Energy Policy)?

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