Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 9/5/2007
The European Union: Energy Security and the Periphery
August 2002
Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract
Europe relies upon imported energy, and the degree of this reliance will increase in coming decades. Internal (primarily North Sea) production of liquid fuels will decline, and production of natural gas will reach a plateau, so that incremental hydrocarbon requirements will necessarily come from external sources. This trend of rising energy imports has important security implications.
European energy security requires, first, that the incremental resources be developed in a timely manner along with adequate transportation systems to deliver the energy to European markets. European security then requires that the likelihood of interruptions to such supplies is minimized, and, in the event of an interruption, the consequences for European consumers are moderated.
