Geopolitics Archives

The Swedish criminal investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline sabotage in the autumn of 2022 will likely conclude shortly after the prosecutor in charge, Mats Ljungqvist, announced that a decision would be made on Wednesday.

The approach of 'competitive sustainability' is key to understanding how a measure of competitiveness is needed in the new global context marked by massive US green subsidies and an aggressive industrial strategy from China, writes Martin Porter.

40% of the world's population will be voting in the coming months. This is an opportunity for citizens around the world to call for more action to tackle the climate emergency, writes Mattias Söderberg.

Germany’s TÜV Nord Group is launching the world’s "first and only comprehensive certification" scheme for critical raw materials along the entire value chain – from exploration to extraction and processing, up to the final product.

NATO countries are priming their citizens to be ready for the next global conflict between the great powers. Once unthinkable, the idea of a third world war seems closer than ever, writes Maurizio Geri.

As the EU has presented its shiny new economic security package this week, it will now need to square the circle between security and prosperity.

It is unclear if Belgium will use the option in an upcoming European Union law to block imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), Belgium's energy minister said on Monday (22 January).

Ukraine, Moldova and Slovakia on Friday (19 January) joined an initiative for a planned corridor to carry natural gas between Greece and countries to its north as Europe steps up efforts to diversify supply and boost energy security.

In a letter sent to the heads of diplomacy of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gordan Grlić Radman and Elmedin Konaković, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on them to influence the head of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, to urgently adopt the Law on the Southern Gas Interconnection, which would connect Bosnia and Croatia and reduce Bosnia’s dependence on Russian gas.

To reduce tensions and speed up the climate transition, the European Union needs to improve its offer on cooperation with other parts of the world, in particular the so-called ‘global South’, writes Mats Engström.

Although gas and electricity prices have receded below their 2022 peak, they are not forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels in the foreseeable future, the European Commission said on Monday (15 January), warning of the long-term economic consequences of high energy prices on the EU's competitiveness.

COP28 has come to an end, with its share of hope and disappointment. Yet, the European Union has a crucial role to play in global climate diplomacy in the coming year 2024, write Simone Tagliapietra, Giovanni Sgaravatti and Cecilia Trasi.

For many years Poland and Germany have failed to agree on important energy matters. The change of government in Poland and the Russian aggression in Ukraine provide an opportunity for a new opening for Polish-German energy relations, write Agata Łoskot-Strachota and Georg Zachmann.

A pipeline connector between Serbia and Bulgaria that will reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian gas by giving it access to Azerbaijan exports was inaugurated Sunday (10 December) in the presence of three Presidents.

Three major Greek shipping firms have stopped transporting Russian oil in recent weeks in order to avoid US sanctions now being imposed on some shipping firms carrying Russian oil, four traders told Reuters and shipping data showed.

The government has decided to withdraw the estimated revenue of €1.2 billion from the new tax on the transfer of Russian gas from the state budget 2024 because the ruling majority doubts that the money can be obtained, Finance Minister Asen Vasilev said on Sunday.

Anyone who imports or trades Russian gas - whether in gaseous or liquid form - is supporting Putin's criminal actions in Ukraine. If we want peace in Europe, it is crucial to cut off Putin's money supply, write Andrii Zhupanyn and Anton Hofreiter.

The Bulgarian government on Thursday became hostage to the decision on the future of the Lukoil Neftochim refinery in Burgas, with the GERB and DPS parties, which have so far supported the decision, insisting on an immediate end to imports of Russian crude despite the risks to the local oil market.

Russian oil tankers are not targeted in the European Commission's proposal for tightening the implementation of a price cap on the country's crude oil, EU diplomats said on Wednesday (15 November).

Thirty-one countries have pledged to stop all deep-sea mining in the polar regions at the One Planet Polar Summit, which ended in Paris on Friday (10 November), in a deal that Norway has not yet signed amid criticism of its recent decision to allow Arctic mining.

Some types of fuel made from Russian oil can be exported to the EU under current rules, Lukoil Bulgaria said on Thursday, denying accusations of violating international oil sanctions against Russia.

Hungary’s gas supply strategy is solely dictated by infrastructure, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday at a conference in Bucharest, emphasising that Budapest rejects the notion of gas purchases being influenced by political matters.

Kazakhstan is ready to transport more Russian oil and gas, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told the Russian daily Izvestia in remarks published early on Wednesday (8 November), a day before President Vladimir Putin was set to visit his country.

Bulgaria can decide how it will be using the revenues it makes from the €10/MWh tax on Russian gas imports transiting through Bulgarian territory, the European Commission confirmed on Monday.