Energy consumption is linked direct to economic activity. According to Eurostat the most significant drop in European energy consumption – 5.8% – occurred in 2009 and is attributed by the agency “to a lower level of economic activity as a result of the global financial and economic crisis”, although in general the consumption of energy continues to grow […]
A key factor in current gas policy is the fight for the European gas market, which is becoming increasingly politicized. It is very evident that this market requires substantial re-structuring, linked to the consequences of American sanctions policy and changes in the system of gas transport routes, even if not all the transport options announced […]
German politicians’ faint hopes that the administration of new US president Joe Biden would replace wrath with favour have been dashed by an icy Transatlantic reality. Washington continues to take an intransigent stance and threaten European participants in the project with sanctions. But Berlin is still trying to withstand the pressure and save face, by […]
The cruel romance between Russian gas suppliers and European consumers reached its peak this year. In early September, just ahead of the winter, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which carries around a third of all Russian gas exports to the EU (almost 15% of the EU’s total gas imports).
“We have decided, as a European Union: We will end our reliance on Russian fossil fuels,” announced EU President Ursula von der Leyen at Princeton University in September 2022. But it seems the EU leader is moving too fast with this statement.
The evolving energy crisis in Europe – brought about in large part by the need to introduce tough sanctions against Russia, which has unleashed war in Ukraine – is beginning to acquire a more persistent nature. Moreover, this is having extremely negative long-term consequences – first and foremost for Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the Russia–Ukraine war that flared up at the end of February “a profound turning point in the history of Europe.” This is largely linked to the fact that the conflict has triggered a swift U-turn in the energy policy of Germany, which had been building close and interdependent relations with Russia in the energy supply field for several decades. It appears that Germany is ready to bid goodbye to Russian piped gas and replace it with liquefied gas (LNG) from overseas by building its own LNG infrastructure.
Renewed discussion of removing sanctions from Iran’s oil industry is becoming one of the most important issues on the current agenda. The subject reflects a strategy whereby the United States and the EU are looking for solutions to the problem of an oil shortage in the here and now: they are under time pressure given the possibility of a full-scale oil embargo against Russia.
The military conflict in Ukraine that began in February and the extensive sanctions against Russia that have been introduced following this have led to a volte-face in the European Union’s energy policy. Under pressure from both external partners and its internal political elite, the EU has declared that it is prepared to abandon Russian gas, oil and coal completely by 2027.
It is no exaggeration to say that the start of Russia’s military action in Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions against Russia have brought about a tectonic shift in the global economy, in which trade relations and links that have existed for decades risk being severed. One of the areas most affected by the crisis is energy.
The conflict that flared up at the end of February between Russia and Ukraine has been a massive shock to the entire political landscape of the European Union. Its seismic waves are continuing to reverberate in all its economies’ markets and industries.
With the warmer months when gas storage facilities are usually filled for the next winter approaching, Europe is struggling to find ways to replace Russian gas with potential alternatives. Attention is naturally turning to Norway, the second largest gas supplier to the continent.
Spot prices for gas in Europe reached a historical high on 21 December 2021, exceeding $2,000 per thousand cubic metres of gas for the first time. By the end of January 2022, the price of gas had experienced a double downward correction. The situation in the European gas market remains complex however. According to Emily […]
The situation in the European energy market is extremely complex and multi-layered in nature. On the one hand, there is a politically motivated battle to oust Russian energy resources and thrust politically motivated conditions for supplying hydrocarbons on Russian companies. On the other, the United States seems to have set itself the goal of developing […]
