War in Ukraine and the gas crisis force a rethink of EU foreign policy
- Autores: Francis Ghiles
- Localización: Notes internacionals CIDOB, ISSN-e 2013-4428, Nº. 268, 2022, págs. 1-5
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
-
Resumen
EU member states’ utter dependence on Russian supplies make gas a key factor in the crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany’s realpolitik towards Russia in recent decades has left it weakened, as it has allowed Russia to weaponise gas.
Hegemonic US power has frequently been used over the past seven decades to ensure European allies’ energy security.
Europe’s failure to undertake coherent collective action to sort out its dependency on gas imported from beyond its borders has been worsened by the decline of its domestic production, which covers 42% of its requirements compared with 53% a decade ago.
The crisis will force a major rethink of Europe’s gas security over the next decade.
This will include diversifying outside sources of gas – starting with suppliers that are close by, such as Algeria and Libya, as well as looking further afield in Africa and the Americas; and increasing gas exchanges within Europe by helping Spain become a major gas hub and ensuring gas stocks are much higher than the historic lows they reached last autumn.
