Energy Relations of the EU and its Southern Neighborhood

Abstract

Energy has always been a key topic in the EU’s relations with the southern neighborhood whose importance in this regard lays above all in its role regarding energy supplies, both for fossil fuels and potentially for renewables. Past efforts at building a fruitful energy relationship between the EU and the region have been rather disappointing though, with (geo) political events such as the European financial crisis or the Arab Spring, for example, having further revealed the limits or weaknesses of the partnership. Against this background, the COVID-19 disease outbreak undoubtedly serves as another test case and eventually shifting interests, may lead to a readjusting of the partnership’s strategic focus: while the pandemic certainly represents a challenge as it may destabilize the region both politically and from an economic point of view and may thus question existing energy patterns, notably as regards to the oil and gas sectors, it is also an opportunity, because it may provide the prospect for the region to rethink its energy strategies and policies and accelerate their transition towards a clean energy system.

This chapter deals with the exploration of the EU’s energy relations with the southern neighborhood and illustrates the EU’s energy approach towards the region. It considers both past and current developments and lays a special focus on the different energy sources oil, gas, renewables, and nuclear.