Is there a Central-European Energy Market in the Making?
Is there a Central-European Energy Market in the Making?

Summary/Abstract: The coming great economic recession and likely depression afterwards, is to set energy prices at a relatively low level for the next 5-7 years. However, this migh be the last chance to prepare for an era of extreme energy prices. With a growing gap of invesments into the industry and tight market situation might couple the economic recovery with scarce supplies and high energy prices. All this promises a high price volatility for the next decade, when Western and particularly European instruments to exert influence on the global energy landscape will be rather few. All this means, that even if energy does not seem to be the most urgent task to be solved now, it is a high time to reconsider Europe’s energy future and our perceiption of dependence. Understandably, this also raises the questions related to common energy policies. New Eastern EU members brought new aspects for common EU energy policy. The patchwork of Central-European energy and Russian policies, however, is only a slightly less colurful, than attitudes in the EU. We have witnessed very few common positions in these regards. Thus, energy policy co-operation is possible only in cases of win-win situations and by bringing these problems, rather to the technical, not to the political level. Common EU policies, regulation and liberalization directives impacted these energy policies much more, than autonomous Central-European co-operation.

• Details
• Contents