Latest Articles about Energy
Turkey Retracts Warning to Nabucco and the EU
On January 19 in Brussels, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to “reconsider” his country’s participation in the Nabucco gas transit pipeline project unless the European Union promptly opened negotiations on the energy chapter in Turkey’s EU accession process (see EDM, January 20). The... MORE
Recent Initiatives to Advance the Nabucco Project
While the Nabucco pipeline remains clearly the centerpiece of the Southern Corridor project, Nabucco alone—even in its second, full-capacity phase—would be far from sufficient to cover the rise in European demand for non-Russian gas in the next decade. A fully-developed Southern Corridor could achieve the... MORE
Hungary to Host Nabucco Summit in a Reshaped Strategic Context
Hungary is hosting a high-level meeting of active and potential participants in the Nabucco gas transport project on January 26 and 27. Top officials of supplier, transit, and consumer countries; international financial institutions; the European Union; and the United States are expected to participate (MTI,... MORE
European Energy Security and Nabucco Occupy a Central Place in Erdogan’s Brussels Trip
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Brussels on January 18 and 19 to discuss Turkish-European relations. The trip, the first of its kind since 2004, comes against the background of criticism that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has abandoned its commitment to EU... MORE
The 18-Day Gas War – Why was it fought? Who Won?
A preliminary, and possibly premature, report of the 18-day Russian-Ukrainian “Gas War” of January 2009 might read as follows:This war should never have taken place. The conflict had little to do with “commercial disagreements” between Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrainy—these were resolved by the “Memorandum of... MORE
Commentary: The Russia-Ukraine Gas Crisis: The Big Picture
By now it should be clear that there is no quick fix for the current Europe-wide energy debacle caused by the vicious Russian-Ukrainian spat. Behind the seemingly intractable dispute over debts, gas pricing, and terms of transit lies a complex post-imperial situation in which Russia... MORE
Gazprom’s War Has Damaged Russian Interests
It was hardly a surprise when Prime Ministers Vladimir Putin and Yulia Tymoshenko, both dressed in black, solemnly announced an agreement to end the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict in the wee hours of Sunday. The "war" had started as a habitual quarrel, then escalated into a... MORE
Turkey Is Optimistic About Nabucco as Budapest Summit Approaches
In the midst of the gas transit row between Russia and Ukraine and discussions on diversifying the continent’s energy supplies, Turkey is pleased to see an opportunity for itself. Turkey is seeking a mediating role in the diplomatic standoff between Russia and Ukraine. Following his... MORE
Russian-Ukrainian Gas Crisis Fuelled by National Identity
Western media coverage of the latest Ukrainian-Russian gas crisis has largely ignored the national identity component of the conflict, and yet this is the main factor fuelling poor relations between Ukraine and Russia. Inter-elite corruption in the energy sector comes second to national identity issues.... MORE
Gazprom’s Destabilization Plan for Ukraine and Southeast Europe
When the tense horse trading among the EU, Ukraine and Russia about allowing EU monitors to observe how Russia was renewing the flow of gas to Europe and how Ukraine was transporting this gas ended on January 13, most Western observers were mildly optimistic that... MORE