Geopolitics Archives

Cyprus could start producing its first natural gas as soon as 2026, and plans to participate in a high-powered electricity cable project linking the eastern Mediterranean to continental Europe, its energy minister told Reuters.

Despite new US sanctions against the Arctic LNG 2 project, Russian LNG exports to Europe have reached record levels. Russia continues to make money on LNG by avoiding sanctions through suspicious companies and corrupt links, writes Mykola Kolisnyk.

Austria’s dependence on Russian gas has grown from 80% to 98% in two years, prompting the country’s energy minister to ring the alarm bell ahead of a national election in the Autumn.

Respondents fear climate-change-driven migration more than the security threat posed by Russia, according to a fresh survey for the Munich Security Conference (MSC) published on Monday (12 February).

The US and Saudi Arabia have reduced investment in oil and gas supply, putting consuming countries in front of their responsibilities by forcing them to act and deliver on their COP28 pledges, writes Thierry Bros.

Russia plans to nearly triple its LNG export capacity by 2030, with four new terminals in the Arctic due to bring more revenues for Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Yet, Ukraine’s allies have a strong leverage on Russian LNG exports, writes Andrii Zhupanyn.

The Swedish criminal investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline sabotage in the autumn of 2022 will likely conclude shortly after the prosecutor in charge, Mats Ljungqvist, announced that a decision would be made on Wednesday.

The approach of 'competitive sustainability' is key to understanding how a measure of competitiveness is needed in the new global context marked by massive US green subsidies and an aggressive industrial strategy from China, writes Martin Porter.

40% of the world's population will be voting in the coming months. This is an opportunity for citizens around the world to call for more action to tackle the climate emergency, writes Mattias Söderberg.

Germany’s TÜV Nord Group is launching the world’s "first and only comprehensive certification" scheme for critical raw materials along the entire value chain – from exploration to extraction and processing, up to the final product.

NATO countries are priming their citizens to be ready for the next global conflict between the great powers. Once unthinkable, the idea of a third world war seems closer than ever, writes Maurizio Geri.

As the EU has presented its shiny new economic security package this week, it will now need to square the circle between security and prosperity.

It is unclear if Belgium will use the option in an upcoming European Union law to block imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), Belgium's energy minister said on Monday (22 January).

Ukraine, Moldova and Slovakia on Friday (19 January) joined an initiative for a planned corridor to carry natural gas between Greece and countries to its north as Europe steps up efforts to diversify supply and boost energy security.

In a letter sent to the heads of diplomacy of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gordan Grlić Radman and Elmedin Konaković, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on them to influence the head of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, to urgently adopt the Law on the Southern Gas Interconnection, which would connect Bosnia and Croatia and reduce Bosnia’s dependence on Russian gas.

To reduce tensions and speed up the climate transition, the European Union needs to improve its offer on cooperation with other parts of the world, in particular the so-called ‘global South’, writes Mats Engström.

Although gas and electricity prices have receded below their 2022 peak, they are not forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels in the foreseeable future, the European Commission said on Monday (15 January), warning of the long-term economic consequences of high energy prices on the EU's competitiveness.

COP28 has come to an end, with its share of hope and disappointment. Yet, the European Union has a crucial role to play in global climate diplomacy in the coming year 2024, write Simone Tagliapietra, Giovanni Sgaravatti and Cecilia Trasi.

For many years Poland and Germany have failed to agree on important energy matters. The change of government in Poland and the Russian aggression in Ukraine provide an opportunity for a new opening for Polish-German energy relations, write Agata Łoskot-Strachota and Georg Zachmann.

A pipeline connector between Serbia and Bulgaria that will reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian gas by giving it access to Azerbaijan exports was inaugurated Sunday (10 December) in the presence of three Presidents.

Three major Greek shipping firms have stopped transporting Russian oil in recent weeks in order to avoid US sanctions now being imposed on some shipping firms carrying Russian oil, four traders told Reuters and shipping data showed.

The government has decided to withdraw the estimated revenue of €1.2 billion from the new tax on the transfer of Russian gas from the state budget 2024 because the ruling majority doubts that the money can be obtained, Finance Minister Asen Vasilev said on Sunday.

Anyone who imports or trades Russian gas - whether in gaseous or liquid form - is supporting Putin's criminal actions in Ukraine. If we want peace in Europe, it is crucial to cut off Putin's money supply, write Andrii Zhupanyn and Anton Hofreiter.

The Bulgarian government on Thursday became hostage to the decision on the future of the Lukoil Neftochim refinery in Burgas, with the GERB and DPS parties, which have so far supported the decision, insisting on an immediate end to imports of Russian crude despite the risks to the local oil market.