Ukrainian gas transit and the issues of gas supply in the European Union
Importance Power and gas supply is one of the priority issues of the European Union as its own resources are insufficient to sustain its economy. The accumulated and unresolved challenges of the European Union made the Brussels search for easy ways of reducing the cost of power supply. As the main method to do it, the EU legitimizes informal cartel ties between regional customers of Gazprom by acting as though it actively made laws for strengthening competition in the European gas market. Objectives The objective of the research is to identify the key political and economic factors, which determine prospects and opportunities of the natural gas export from Russia. In this respect, I explore the main components of the EU principles of relationship with Russia under unstable situation in Ukraine and stiffening economic sanctions. Methods Based on economic and historical methods, I examine a set of issues that shape the current position of the European Union with regards to gas supply to its southern regions. Illustrating the case of the Turkish Stream, I substantiate the existing demand of the EU for the Russian natural gas. Results Upon the analysis of factors shaping the EU gas supply policy, I reconstructed conceptual approaches to its formation. Conclusions The Western sanctions against Russia artificially obstruct trade with natural gas. However, the potential of the barriers is limited and fairly cannot have a considerable effect on the regional gas supply.