In the latest issue of ELIAMEP Thesis, Filippos Proedrou, Lecturer of Politics and International Relations in City College, Thessaloniki, argues that while the global economic crisis has overshadowed most policy-making within the Eurozone, energy security remains a major issue, where Russia holds a special weight.
The present ELIAMEP Thesis examines the discourse in EU policy-making circles with regard to Russia and its role as a natural gas provider, on the presumption that whilst the oil market is global, natural gas markets are regional. Although LNG creates potential for the creation of a global gas market, gas trade remains, basically, pipeline-bound and shortages can thus not easily be substituted by other sources. Hence, EU-Russia gas trade carries more weight within their bilateral relationship. This essay aims to clarify the misperceptions haunting EU energy policy and to suggest a more rational working framework. Such a re-conceptualization carries with it major revisions for EU energy policy-making.Download
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