Why Europe needs an energy policy
Article from: OGEL 2 (2007), in Geopolitics of Energy
Introduction
p>Although it was a coincidence, the announcement of the European Commission's "Energy Policy for Europe" on 10 January 2007 could hardly have occurred at a more propitious moment.
During the same week, the Druzhba oil pipeline carrying Russian oil across Belarus to Poland and Germany was temporarily closed. The dispute between Belarus and the Russian company Transneft over oil pipeline tariffs and taxes, coming one year after the conflict between Ukraine and Gazprom over gas pricing, reminded consumers of the vulnerability of Europe's energy supply networks.