EU-Russia Energy Cooperation In The 21st Century:Problems And Prospects

Since the 21st century,the energy cooperation between the EU and Russia has made great achievements.Russia's richness in oil and gas production supply meets the EU's demand for energy import dependence.The cooperation between the two sides revolves around energy issues and plays an significant role in the world energy market.However,with the increasing demand for energy of the EU,the current uneven distribution of global energy has created a more tense energy supply situation,and the EU's need for energy supply security is also growing.At the same time,Russia and Ukraine,which have been in conflict,have repeatedly been exposed to natural gas disputes,resulting in the risk of a disruption or substantial reduction in energy supply to the EU as a terminal consumer.The EU began to re-examine its own energy strategy needs.Meanwhile,Russia is also adjusting its energy strategies based on changing situation.Although many scholars have conducted extensive researches on energy cooperation between the EU and Russia,as the cooperation process between the two parties is still in the process of development,this article continues to follow the new trends in current energy cooperation between the EU and Russia,using updated data and facts to reflect the interactive process in the energy cooperation between the two sides.The core issue of this paper is to sort out the energy cooperation between the EU and Russia in the 21st century to analyze the main driving forces and obstacles of energy cooperation in the new century,and to prospect the future development of European-Russian energy cooperation.In response to the uncertainties brought about by the changing external environment,the EU and Russia have continuously adjusted their energy strategies for more than a decade to enhance their adaptability to the crisis.Therefore,the first part of the article summarizes the strategic objectives of EU and Russia energy by sorting out the energy strategy documents and related policy documents issued by the EU and Russia,aiming to find commonalities and differences in the energy strategy of both sides.In 2000,2006 and 2014,the EU updated its energy strategy goals,established core objectives for sustainable development,competitiveness and energy supply security,and continuously emphasized the importance of energy security and reduced energy consumption.The EU increasingly emphasizes that energy import diversification has established a corresponding implementation policy,and actively promotes the EU's internal reforms to unify actions.On the other hand,under the leadership of Putin,Russia has established an important role for energy in the development of the national economy and played a role in energy diplomacy.Europe and Russia have strong complementarities in the relationship between energy supply and demand,which is the most common interest for cooperation between the two sides over the years.The third chapter focuses on the analysis of the main contradictions between the EU and Russia in the new century and the sources of resistance between the two sides.The EU's deployment of the Southern Natural Gas Corridor plans to compete with the South Stream pipeline and the Turkey Stream pipeline(the transformation of the lost South Stream).The EU's competition for energy in the Central Asia-Caspian region poses a threat to Russia.At the same time,Russia's launch of the Yamal LNG project and increased investment in the East Asian market have also hindered European-Russian energy cooperation to some extent.The EU and Russia have imposed a certain squeeze on the space for energy cooperation between the two sides due to their respective energy diversification strategy needs.Then,the lack of cooperation in the protection of legal mechanisms has also increased the mistrust between Europe and Russia.The debate between the EU and Russia on the EU's third energy package has lasted for almost four years.The structural differences between the Euro-Russian economy and Russia's monopoly on energy resources have also created a situation in which the two sides are not equal in the energy market.At the same time,the Ukrainian crisis has affected the EU-Russia relations from time to time and brought more uncertain factors and risks to the European-Russian energy relations.The EU and Russia's own constraints are also potential factors hindering cooperation between the two sides.Therefore,the resistance in the EU-Russia energy cooperation cannot be easily eliminated.Through case study and comparative study,after evaluating the EU and Russia energy cooperation process,this paper analyzes the cooperation motivation and cooperation resistance behind it,and believes that the European-Russian energy cooperation has achieved remarkable achievements and will remain developing positively in the future for a certain period of time.However,the competition and challenges from the changes in the international energy landscape will be greater,and there will be differences and contradictions on the new issues.On the whole,cooperation is still the most pragmatic choice for both parties.