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The issue of energy is an important issue with global effects, not regional. This issue has an impact on many important issues from the economy to the environment. More work needs to be done these days as the world tries to understand the importance of renewable energy. This issue also affects the EU at many points.
The European Union is a union that aims to grow by bringing the European people together and tries to become a world power. Its expansion continues at regular intervals and these developments have had some responsibilities and problems for it. For this reason, energy is in a strategic position in the foreign policy of the EU and its importance is increasing day by day. EU energy policy aims to maintain the share of coal in total energy consumption, to increase the share of natural gas, to establish maximum safety conditions for nuclear power plants and to increase the share of renewable energy sources, by striking a balance between competitiveness, security of energy supply and protection of the environment. While trying to reach these goals, it has to struggle with some difficulties.
The EU is a very dense region in terms of energy consumption and does not have sufficient resources. The EU has long been dependent on foreign energy resources, primarily oil and gas, to meet its energy needs. This leaves the region vulnerable to fluctuations in global energy markets and the politically volatile behavior of major energy producing countries, with significant geopolitical and economic consequences for the EU. This issue has become more important especially when issues such as the environment have begun to be accepted as high politics, and the EU’s foreign dependence on energy and its effects on the region’s economy, security and foreign policy have begun to draw attention.
Russia, Norway and Algeria stand out among the countries on which the EU is dependent on energy. About half of the EU’s natural gas imports come from Russia. Norway provides about a third of the EU’s natural gas imports. Algeria, on the other hand, is one of the largest sources of EU LNG (liquefied natural gas) imports. In addition, the energy dependence of the EU is not only on natural gas, the EU is also dependent on some countries for oil imports. The largest sources in this regard are Saudi Arabia, Russia and Nigeria. Saudi Arabia supplies about one-fifth of the EU’s oil imports. Russia supplies about 29% of the EU’s oil imports, while Nigeria accounts for about 10% of the EU’s oil imports.
To touch on the pipeline issue, Algeria’s pipeline exports to Europe were the biggest source of pipeline supply growth to the region last year (+13 bcm), followed by Azerbaijan (+6 bcm). Russia’s pipeline supply to Europe remained stable overall at 167 bcm in 2021, while exports to the EU decreased by 8.2% (-12 bcm).
First, the EU’s external dependence on energy has a significant impact on its economy. The EU is highly dependent on Russia’s energy imports, especially for the EU’s gas needs. The EU therefore becomes vulnerable to price increases and supply disruptions. For example, in 2014, Russia’s annexation of Crimea caused a dispute with Ukraine over gas prices, resulting in a temporary cutoff of gas supplies to the EU. A similar situation occurred during the Russian-Ukrainian war. US and European sanctions against Russia over Ukraine ended free energy trade and created setbacks in global energy governance. In short, this situation can be called the politicization of energy. EU-Russia energy competition is becoming increasingly complex, and ties are constantly being undermined. Energy cooperation has now become less inclusive. The international energy security environment is deteriorating. Many countries fiercely advocate global energy dialogue and cooperation and oppose the politicization and weaponization of energy issues in order to maintain market stability.
A second challenge economically is the issue of price fluctuation. EU energy prices are heavily influenced by global energy prices, which are subject to fluctuations based on supply and demand, geopolitical tensions and other factors. As a result, it can cause high energy costs, low competition and low economic growth for businesses.
This dependency also affects the EU’s foreign policy attitude. For example, because it is dependent on Russia for gas or Middle East countries for oil, it cannot take a strong stand when there are any problems with these countries.
To overcome these challenges, the EU has adopted a series of policies aimed at reducing its dependence on foreign energy. One of the first things that can be done to reduce foreign dependency will be to switch to the use of renewable energy sources, but this will not be an easy process either. Since the use of renewable energy sources is not widespread yet, it can be difficult to supply. In addition, there are differences in energy policies and use of resources among EU countries, which may complicate cooperation in diversifying energy supply and reducing foreign dependency in energy. In addition, it does not seem possible for renewable energy sources to replace oil and natural gas all of a sudden. As a result of the research, it is said that the share of renewable resources in the EU’s energy consumption will increase from 5.9% to 8.6% in the 2000-2030 period, and even this will not be enough.
Among the things that can be done in this regard are increasing investments in renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency and diversifying energy sources and routes. For example, the EU’s Clean Energy for All Europeans package aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the EU’s energy mix to 32% by 2030. The most important factor required for the realization of these goals is cooperation. This cooperation can be between EU member states or third countries.
There are many things that can be done in this regard, and it would be more accurate to examine them as long-term, short-term or even medium-term. EU Action Plan (This action plan was adopted in 2014 and addresses the serious risks related to the EU’s energy security) and Towards 2050 Vision the EU’s agenda for 2020 sets out the main steps to be taken in this process. These steps include things that will take a long time to happen, such as carbon-free electricity generation or a radical technology transition that will break the dependency on oil in transportation. However, it would be useful to determine the political agenda for 2030 and the vision for 2050 already.
One of the actions taken in the short term is the “Renewable Energy Directive” which came into force in 2009. The aim is for each country to determine its own national target, to increase the share of renewable energy in final consumption to 20%. According to this Directive, 10% of the fuels used in transportation is aimed to be provided from renewable sources. Then, on 30 November 2016, the “Clean Energy Package for All Europeans” was announced to continue leading the global energy transition.
Each member state is invited to prepare a National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), covering the period 2021-2030, covering the five dimensions of the Energy Union and outlining how they will achieve their goals in this context.
On 11 December 2019, the European Green Consensus (AYM) was announced. With the AYM, the new growth strategy of the EU, the EU has entered a radical transformation process that will reshape its economy.
In March 2022, the International Energy Agency published a 10-point Plan to Reduce the European Union’s Dependence on Russian Natural Gas. In addition, in support of this plan, the European Commission announced the “European Natural Gas Demand Reduction Plan”. The summary of these plans includes: to reduce dependence on Russia. For this, countries are expected to voluntarily reduce their natural gas consumption. However, although this is a voluntary request, there is a possibility that there will be compulsions according to the conditions, and since the expectations from each country are not equal, conflicts have started to arise between the Southern and Northern European countries. According to 2019 data, the energy dependency ratio of the EU is 54.4%. The countries with the highest energy dependency rates are Greece (72.4%), Italy (72.3%) and Cyprus (71.3%). The countries with the lowest energy dependency rates are Sweden (22.4%), Finland (32.1%) and Denmark (34.6%). This explains the reason for the discussion.
REPowerEU, announced on 18 May 2022, is the European Commission’s plan for energy saving, clean energy generation and diversification of energy sources. It is supported by financial and legal measures to build the new energy infrastructure and system that Europe needs.
Although there are multiple practices and laws, they all come to the same conclusion, and their effects are not something that can happen in a short time. While trying to reduce imports of fossil fuels, the EU is working towards becoming the “Green Leader of the Future” by turning to renewable energy sources.
As a result, the increase in energy costs beyond expectations brings energy security to the agenda of the EU as an urgent issue. The EU has set a number of priorities for solving the relevant problems. It acts according to these priorities. It is clear that he is currently experiencing problems in domestic politics (problems of cooperation between member states) and foreign policy (attitude in the Russia-Ukraine War). The impact of this situation on the EU’s dependence on foreign energy, energy security and economic stability is obvious. More needs to be done to ensure a safe, affordable, and sustainable energy supply for the EU. This will require continued investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and new energy infrastructure, as well as greater cooperation between EU member states to strengthen their collective energy security. In addition, although it is shown as a dependency on Russia, which is currently on the agenda, the EU is dependent on many countries as stated above. The reason why Russia is at the forefront is the Ukraine War. However, the energy problem is a general problem, and the EU needs to find general solutions in cooperation with its member states.
