EU Russia energy relations: legal and policy issues

Over the last 36 months the energy relationship between Europe and Russia, a customer and its supplier, has been re-written in many ways. This book endeavors to grasp the political and legal issues that surround these developments. Firstly, the political aspects of the EU-Russia relations are discussed by some of the leading practitioners and academics in the field. With Russia being the single most important energy supplier for the European Union, the security of supply issue inevitably hinges to a large extent on the complex relationship between Brussels and the Kremlin. The events following the most recent disruption of gas supply from Ukraine in 2009 is evidence of the fragile political interrelation between the EU and Russia and it is not surprising that speculation about the future of Russian energy supplies to the EU keeps growing. These issues are further complicated by the stated intention of both parties, the EU in particular, to diversify their energy flows. In the first section of the book, the Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and his colleague from the Cabinet, Ferran Tarradellas, approach the issue from an EU perspective as international relations practitioners. Their viewpoint on EU-Russia relations is then followed by an academic assessment from Dr Fraser Cameron. Above and beyond policy issues, the legal issues that surround the intricate political backdrop of the relationship are also examined in much detail. Indeed the legal relations between the two partners are at the center stage of this book. Various mechanisms including the EU-Russia Partnership Agreement, the EU-Russia energy dialogue and the Energy Charter Treaty are examined and debated. Another re-occurring theme of the book is the role of transit countries. Here, the international law aspects of EU-Russia energy relations are discussed by an eminent group of experts including Mark Baker, Dr. Andrey Konoplyanik, Dr. Dirk Buschle, Sophie Nappert and others. These experts discuss issues including the Energy Charter Treaty, EU-Russia Partnership Agreement and the enforcement of arbitral awards in Russia. The changing legal regime, in the EU in particular, also has its effects on EU-Russia relations. Some of the most significant and controversial changes in EU energy law and policy and its implications for EU-Russia energy relations are examined in the chapters written by some of the leading academics from various countries including many EU Member States, Ukraine and the US. The authors include Dr. Michelle Michot Foss, Dr. Dmitry Volkov, Dr. Gürcan Gülen, Dr. Alan Riley, Arnoud Willems, Jung-ui Sul, Yohan Benizri, Michael Gonchar, Vitalii Martyniuk and Olena Prystayko, Aleksander Kotlowski, Kim Talus and Michaël Hunt.