Europe's energy security: challenges and opportunities |
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| Authors: | GAWDAT BAHGAT |
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| Institution: | Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University, Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Gulf monarchies: new economic and political realities;(1997);The future of the Gulf (1997);The Persian Gulf at the dawn of the new millennium (1999);American oil diplomacy in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea (2003), and Israel and the Persian Gulf: retrospect and prospect (2006). In addition, he has published numerous articles on the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea in scholarly journals. His main areas of expertise include energy, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. |
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| Abstract: | The extreme volatility of global energy markets since the early 2000s has prompted the Commission of the European Communities to issue a new Green Paper, 'A European strategy for sustainable, competitive and secure energy'. This important document seeks to identify the main steps EU members need to take to enhance their energy outlooks. The first section in this article discusses the concept 'energy security'. This is followed by an examination of Europe's energy mix (oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power and renewables). The third section analyses European efforts to establish and strengthen energy partnerships with Russia, the Caspian Sea region and the Middle East. In other words, the article seeks to examine Europe's efforts to diversify its energy mix and energy sources. The main argument is that stability and predictability in energy markets are shared goals between producing regions and major consumers. |
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