Europe’s Energy Crisis: is Eurasia the Answer? - Dr Luca Anceschi

Recent events in the Middle East highlight the reality that energy supply security is a key element in the global energy system. The interruption of the oil flow from Libya and the instability characterising EU-Algerian energy trade have raised many questions about the energy security of the European Union. Further, the nuclear catastrophe in Japan could lead to the early closure of German nuclear plants, resulting in greater demand for gas. Growing energy interaction between Russia, Central Asia and the European Union could address this pressing issue and help Brussels stabilise EU access to reliable, adequate, and secure supplies of energy. An emerging energy market, focused primarily on gas, extending from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea will hence represent a major feature of international relations in the 21^st century.

This talk will address this critical issue in global affairs, by looking at the interaction of the energy needs of the European Union, its relationships with the non-democratic governments of the Eurasian region, and the EU response to the challenges that climate change is posing to energy policy making. These are important issues for Australia which is a major global energy supplier in the form of gas, coal and uranium.

Dr Luca Anceschi is a Lecturer in the Politics and International Relations Program at La Trobe University. His main area of research interest includes the politics and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia. His recently published book, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality and the Consolidation of the Turkmen Regime, is the first book-length analysis of Turkmen foreign policy published by a western scholar. His current research projects include an examination of Asia’s energy security and an analysis of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. He is a graduate of L’Orientale University of Naples and La Trobe University.