War in Ukraine and the gas crisis force a rethink of EU foreign policy

Abstract

EU member states’ utter dependence on Russian supplies make gas a key factor in the crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany’s realpolitik towards Russia in recent decades has left it weakened, as it has allowed Russia to weaponise gas. Hegemonic US power has frequently been used over the past seven decades to ensure European allies’ energy security. Europe’s failure to undertake coherent collective action to sort out its dependency on gas imported from beyond its borders has been worsened by the decline of its domestic production, which covers 42% of its requirements compared with 53% a decade ago.