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 […]
Germany intends to consistently and rigorously implement its plan for the development of its national energy sector, with a view to abandoning nuclear energy by 2022 and phasing out coal by 2038. The precise mix on which Angela Merkel’s government is betting for the next few years is made up of alternative energy sources and […]
Nord Stream 2 is at a phase in its development where there is virtually no doubt that it will be completed. The question is what the political and economic costs of launching it will be and whether it will be able to function fully in an economic and geo-economic sense. The outcome of current developments […]
The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TGP) project was conceived twenty years ago and in theory is capable of changing the energy market in Europe. However, for a whole range of reasons – from geopolitical to financial, economic and environmental – this important project for European energy security has stalled. And the prospects for supplying Turkmen gas, […]
In September, Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller announced that Poland was prepared to offer Germany a replacement for Nord Stream 2, which is beset with problems. Poland has decided to use the situation to its advantage and to raise the profile of what is considered an alternative to project – the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline. […]
After almost a year of suspense, the future of Romanian gas exports remains highly uncertain. Restrictive legislation adopted by the previous government in 2018 remains in force, while new steps to ease gas exports are proving incongruent with it. The Neptun Deep Standstill Perhaps most revealing is the lack of development in the Neptun Deep […]
A triumphant fanfare was heard in Israel in the middle of the summer: following on the heels of the authorities in Greece and Cyprus, the government had finally ratified the agreement on the construction of the EastMed gas pipeline. The pipeline is intended to deliver gas from the Israeli Leviathan deposit to European consumers.The agreement […]
The global economy has not simply proved to be in a recession, intensified by the coronavirus pandemic: it is confronted with the formation of new systemic political realities. The sooner these new systemic realities are transformed into a new economic understanding, the quicker and more effective the way out of the crisis will be. If […]
In the autumn of 2019, Azerbaijan triumphantly reported that preparations for the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project were moving to their final stage: its launch was scheduled to take place by the end of 2020. However, everything may not be as rosy as Baku has been trying to suggest. The issue is not just the […]
In the last five years the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TGP) project has been considered one of the most important projects for Europe’s gas supply, both in a political sense and from the point of view of potential investment. Despite all its costs – primarily political and environmental – this project has been regarded by supranational European institutions as a […]
Energy policy worldwide is built on a peculiar combination of political, economic and financial interests. This is particularly true in the eastern Mediterranean region, where the lucrative European energy market is undergoing a major transformation while the countries of the Middle East are constantly searching for favourable alliances. The planned EastMed pipeline is a vivid […]
Poland has finally and irrevocably decided that after 2022 it will break free from the Yamal contract, under which it purchases natural gas from Russia. In the future, it intends to buy gas from Norway, the European Union, the United States, and Qatar. For now, however, the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, through which gas will […]
