Title: Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy | The Heritage Foundation
Headings: Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy
Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy
Ariel Cohen
Director, CENRG and Senior Fellow, IAGS
Energy Dependence on Russia
Implications for European Energy Security
Policy Implications for the United States
Authors
Ariel Cohen
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Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy
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Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy
November 5, 2007 20 min read Download Report
Ariel Cohen
Director, CENRG and Senior Fellow, IAGS
Ariel served as the Director of the CENRG and Senior Fellow for IAGS
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Russia is consolidating its grip on oil and gas-the economic lifeblood of Europe. Moscow is pursuing a comprehensive strategy that could increase Europe's political and economic dependence on Russian energy. Such dependence could negatively affect transatlantic relations, common values, goals, strategic objectives, and security policies. Without a policy dialogue and coordination between Washington and European capitals, Europe's strategic drift away from the United States will continue unabated. In the meantime, European energy security policy is in disarray. Despite British Prime Minister Tony Blair's call for a common European energy policy in an October 2005 speech to the European Parliament, [1] European countries have rushed to secure their own energy interests in lieu of a more coordinated approach. In the spring and summer of 2007, Austria, Italy, and Hungary negotiated separate deals with the Russian energy giant Gazprom. These deals may undermine the EU's Nabucco project, which aims to bring Caspian gas to the heart of Europe via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and into Austria. On paper, the European Union is invested in energy security. At the 2007 spring summit in Brussels, EU members outlined an action plan on energy security for 2007-2009.