Gazprom - A Reliable Partner for Europe's Energy Supply?

Author(s): Andreas Heinrich
Editor(s): Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 1
Pages: 2-6
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2006

The conflict with Ukraine over natural gas in January 2006 that also caused delivery shortfalls in Central and Western Europe gave rise to concerns in the EU, including in Germany, as to the reliability of Russia - and thus of Gazprom - as an energy supplier. On the one hand, Gazprom is striving for greater integration in the world market, while on the other hand, it seeks to maintain its dominant monopoly position in the opaque markets of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The company keeps a tight rein on competition in the post-Soviet natural gas market and acts as sole supplier of natural gas from Russia and Central Asia on the foreign markets. The strategy pursued by Gazprom within the CIS is fundamentally incompatible with the basic tenets of the EU's energy policy in terms of competition and non-discrimination. Despite these contradictions, Gazprom has proven to be a reliable supplier of natural gas to the EU.

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