European energy security: Prospects of the Caspian basin

Sammanfattning: Depletion of the indigenous energy resources of the EU, growing dependence on the external energy supplies, volatile prices of the global energy resources, increasing global rivalry for hydrocarbon reserves and recent Russian-Ukrainian disputes over natural gas prices which as a consequence has resulted in gas supply disruptions to several EU member states escalated the significance of the European energy security in the EU’s political agenda. Bearing in mind the aforesaid factors, the main argument of this thesis is to emphasize that diversification of energy supply and routes and the establishment of common external energy policy are substantial steps towards the maintenance of the European energy security. During the course of the study, the author intends to reveal factors which hinder the establishment of a common external energy policy of the EU. Furthermore, thesis aims to discuss alternatives for the diversification of the EU’s energy supply and routes. Theoretical framework of the research includes theories such as Realism, Liberalism and Regional Security Complex Theory. In order to demonstrate Caspian basin countries’ hydrocarbon potential, energy infrastructure and their political willingness to cooperate with the EU in the energy field author utilizes descriptive case study.