Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/51932

KEYWORDS : resource diplomacy;energy security;gas pipeline;energy strategy;European integration

This article discusses the chronological development of EU's energy security policy and its problems. Because energy security is primarily a responsibility of national governments, the European Union (European Commission in particular) was not able to formulate unified energy policy. But at the same time, due to the lack of natural energy resources, EU member states needed to cooperate in order to increase bargaining power against energy rich regions such as Middle East or Russia. The problem of international negotiation became clear when Russia and Ukraine increased the political tension, and in order to secure supply of natural gas from Russia, EU launched the discussion with Green Paper which resulted the first comprehensive energy policy in 2007. Furthermore, the "Energy 2020", a new policy document suggested the necessity for EU to influence the process of rules- and standard-making to secure the free trade environment for energy resources. However, the division of competence between member states and EU still make it difficult to formulate comprehensive energy policy. Furthermore, dynamic change of international environment such as "Arab Spring" and Russo-Ukraine conflict, and different reactions and interests of member states complicated the EU strategy for energy rich regions. This structural contradiction of EU's energy security policy implies that EU may not be hegemonic power in international arena, but their role as a giant consumer of energy would have a power to shape international energy market.