Introduction

Abstract

It is already acknowledged that, in terms of energy security the Black Sea region is important to Europe. So far, most of the debates on that subject have been focused on the vital supplies of oil and gas from Russia, the Caspian basin and the northern segment of the Middle East. Repeated disruptions of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, whatever the political or/and commercial motivation may have been, revealed some serious system vulnerabilities and highlighted the strategic nature of the pursuit of energy security in Europe today. Inevitably, and for very good reasons, a lot of attention has been given to the existing and planned pipeline routes going around or across the Black Sea. As it is indicated in the present book, much less attention has been given to the development of the Black Sea energy market in its own right and to the potential advantages of coping with some current and future energy issues in a multilateral regional format rather than through individual action at national level.