The Transit Location of Slovakia and its Interests in the Context of the EU Energy Security
The Transit Location of Slovakia and its Interests in the Context of the EU Energy Security

Summary/Abstract: The problems of the V4 countries in the area of the power industry are very similar. The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary as well as Slovakia are one-sidedly dependent on the Russian supplies of oil, gas and nuclear fuel. All four countries have built their energetic infrastructure and mainly the pipeline system in the East-Western direction exclusively while North-Southern links are either non-existent or very insufficient. However, there are several discrepancies between these countries which are reflected in the energy policy and have an impact on their energy security. While the Czechs and the Poles can cover a significant part of their energy demand by domestic sources, the position of the Hungarians and the Slovaks is much more complicated. As a consequence of their inland position, the two countries have remained almost exclusively dependent on the pipeline network from the times when they were both satellites of the Soviet Union. Despite similar interests in the area of energy policy, the reality of the past few years suggests that this is not the case. It is given not only by objective logistical-economic factors but often also by political aspects.

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