Abstract
The article provides an overview of the risks and challenges that the EU is facing in the current geopolitical situation as Europe relies too heavily on oil and gas imports from Russia. This energy dependence is not the only threat to the security of the energy supply, but it is the biggest one and presents the toughest challenge of all. Even when the Ukraine issue has been resolved, the question of energy dependence will remain and solutions must be found as a matter of urgency. Combining our energy infrastructures and perhaps uniting our negotiating power vis-à-vis third countries could help us to reduce dependence, improve the security of supply and increase European competitiveness as a result of lower energy prices overall. The existing internal energy market directives must be implemented and new policies established as we move towards a true European energy union.
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Notes
The European legislation addressing the issue of the creation and development of the electricity and gas market is grouped into three different packages, which were issued in 1996–8, 2003 and 2009 respectively. The First Energy Legislation Package, adopted in the late 1990s, allowed the opening of the electricity and gas market and a gradual introduction of competition. The Second Energy Legislation Package further focused on the concepts of unbundling and third party access and defined the need for independent regulatory authorities. The Third Energy Legislation package established a new unbundling regime and more clearly defined the duties of national regulatory authorities.
The delivery statistics published by Gazprom (2014) include Turkey and Switzerland.
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Urutchev, V. Energy dependence: the EU’s greatest energy security challenge?. European View 13, 287–294 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12290-014-0319-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12290-014-0319-1