Energy Policy in the European Union Following the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Elena Maltseva
Proposal
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 disrupted long-established energy links between Russia and the European Union and made the future of EU member states energy policy an open and urgent question. The EU and its Member States are specifically reliant on Russian energy that is embedded into Member States’ individual policies. However, in September 2022 explosions occurred on Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that supplied most Russian gas to Europe and shut them down indefinitely. The EU has also implemented several sanctions on Russian energy products. These factors have caused an unprecedented deterioration in the EU’s energy supply and will require the EU to establish new energy policies to address this gap in supply. The impact on member states that import more Russian energy and are much more reliant on Russian fossil fuels will be even greater. These include Member States such as, Finland, Germany, and Poland which range from 75%-49% of energy dependence to Russia as of 2021. This paper’s main aim is to establish if there is policy convergence between the EU member states that are more reliant on Russian energy. There is current research on policy convergence for renewables in the EU Member States, but there lacks research on policy convergence after the Ukraine-Russian conflict of 2022. This paper uses a qualitative and quantitative comparative case study approach to study the policies of Germany, Poland, and Finland to analyze if there is policy convergence on newly proposed and implemented energy policy in response to Russian aggression.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Energy Policy in the European Union Following the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 disrupted long-established energy links between Russia and the European Union and made the future of EU member states energy policy an open and urgent question. The EU and its Member States are specifically reliant on Russian energy that is embedded into Member States’ individual policies. However, in September 2022 explosions occurred on Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that supplied most Russian gas to Europe and shut them down indefinitely. The EU has also implemented several sanctions on Russian energy products. These factors have caused an unprecedented deterioration in the EU’s energy supply and will require the EU to establish new energy policies to address this gap in supply. The impact on member states that import more Russian energy and are much more reliant on Russian fossil fuels will be even greater. These include Member States such as, Finland, Germany, and Poland which range from 75%-49% of energy dependence to Russia as of 2021. This paper’s main aim is to establish if there is policy convergence between the EU member states that are more reliant on Russian energy. There is current research on policy convergence for renewables in the EU Member States, but there lacks research on policy convergence after the Ukraine-Russian conflict of 2022. This paper uses a qualitative and quantitative comparative case study approach to study the policies of Germany, Poland, and Finland to analyze if there is policy convergence on newly proposed and implemented energy policy in response to Russian aggression.