SODIKOV Sh.D. Some Precedents and Problems of the EU Energy Security
Sh.D. SODIKOV Candidate of Sciences (law), researcher at the Analytical center of IMI MGIMO (U) MFA RF, Deputy Chairman of Moscow city bar "Law and justice," Moscow, Russia
SOME PRECEDENTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE EU ENERGY SECURITY
The European Union is characterized by a high level of energy dependence on Russia. To minimize dependence on Russia, the EU must strengthen its ties with other energy sources, where the Caspian region can play a key role. Access to new sources does not mean that the EU can meet its demands, because Russia will remain an important source of energy, but, on the contrary, by diversifying the EU will be more "protected" from pressure from Russia. With regard to the diversification of EU energy sources, energy projects of transit countries play a very important role. The Balkan region, thanks to its geostrategic position, can play a vital role in this regard. Security and stability are directly linked to the EU's energy security. The case of Ukraine clearly demonstrates the importance of transit countries in ensuring energy security, so the EU should pay special attention to the potential and importance of the Balkan region.
Key words: energy security, European Union, TAR.
Regional multilateral and bilateral cooperation in the field of energy is carried out within the framework of regional economic organizations and is based on the relevant international legal framework. To date, the EU has created a set of sectoral legislation and legal provisions that allow us to talk about the formation of European energy law.
The EU has prepared an institutional framework for the implementation of an integrated energy policy, which is primarily aimed at ensuring the supply of energy from external sources. The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), the implementation of which should establish the basic organizational and legal framework for multilateral cooperation in the field of energy in Eurasia, plays an important role in achieving this goal. Negotiations on various issues are continuing within the framework of the Energy Charter Conference. The Conference, an international organization as such, coordinates implementation of the provisions and other instruments of the Charter. It is important to note that the Charter and the ECT contain provisions aimed at ensuring the safety of transit, its specification is discussed during negotiations. ECT contains a number of constructive provisions. At the same time, the January crises of 2009, caused by interruptions in gas supplies from Russia through Ukraine, revealed the inability of the instruments to ECT to solve the emerging problems. It is obvious that the continuous operation of modern international transit systems can be significantly improved by the development of new international legal norms .
The regional priorities of Russian energy diplomacy suggest that measures to improve the situation of the state in the European region, the main market of Russian gas and oil, should be supplemented by active steps to increase export flows, both in the East and in the South. The strategy of the Russian energy sector is aimed at large-scale involvement of the hydrocarbon resources of the Central Asian countries, including the States of the Caspian region, in its energy balance. In this regard, one of the priorities of Russian diplomacy is to support a number of major oil and gas projects, including the construction of new strategic pipelines .
Russia has primary interests in many European countries. Basically, they relate to the development of marketing, entering the sales segments of the oil and gas business, attracting investments and solving transit issues. A number of European countries, in turn, are the main suppliers of equipment for Russian energy and at the same time potential exporters of capital for Russian energy industries. These factors have led to the beginning of the energy dialogue between the EU and Russia in 2000, which has become an integral part of the regular talks held on the basis of the EU-Russia summits. Cooperation on these issues is shifting from politics to business because of the initiative to create an EU-Russia energy forum designed to bring together the main players of the Russian energy sector and leading European fuel companies. At the same time, Russian diplomacy pays special attention to the issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of energy with individual EU countries. Here it should be noted the successful development of a number of projects with France, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, etc.
Due to the large reserves of energy sources, mainly natural gas, the Caspian region can play an important role in the implementation of the EU energy interests. Access to the EU countries in these sources will be achieved through the construction of gas pipelines that will pass through the territory of the Balkans .
The Balkans have a very advantageous geographical location and serve as a bridge between Europe and Asia. The benefits these countries can bring as energy transit countries are not only economic, but also geopolitical, enhancing their importance and role in the international arena. In other words, on the one hand, the Balkan transit countries will play an important role in ensuring the EU's energy security, but on the other hand, they themselves will have some advantages.
Given the importance of the Balkan countries, taking into account the Ukrainian experience, the EU should consider as a priority its relationship with these countries. The stability, development and prosperity of the Balkan countries are of direct interest to the EU. The TAP project, together with the IAP within the southern gas corridor, will serve as a means to reduce the EU's dependence on Russian energy sources, which will ensure energy security for the EU.
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