Pipe dream? EU dependence on Russian natural gas

Abstract

Increasing interdependence and globalization have changed the concept of security considerably over the past few decades. The oil crises of the 1970s challenged traditional military-focused security concepts and brought home the reality that supply and demand of hydrocarbon energy sources could have severe international implications. This thesis will discuss the domestic and international geopolitical ramifications of the EU's increasing dependence on foreign suppliers of energy, with particular focus on imports of Russian natural gas. The dichotomy of values and philosophy that exists between the EU and Russia will be examined along with the possible ramifications stemming from this divergence in thinking. The influence of such a contradictory relationship upon EU efforts at energy integration is examined in the broader context of EU-Russian relations, and in the light of the latest crisis over Ukraine.The main conclusions of this thesis are that although policies and plans are in place for further EU energy integration, self-interested efforts to block such change, from both outside and inside the Union, have so far prevented this from happening. However, developments surrounding the Ukrainian crisis have the capacity – at least in one scenario - to act as a political catalyst for greater EU strategic awareness and faster integration within the EU's energy sector.