EU–Russia energy divorce

CEURUS public lecture on Wednesday, 12 October, 10:15–12:00 in Lossi 36–215

Dr. Andrei Belyi Founder, Balesene OÜ and Adjunct Professor in Energy Law and Policy, University of Eastern Finland

Moderator: Dr. Raul Eamets, Professor of Macroeconomics, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences

This public lecture will review the change in Russia's approach to gas exports since late 2021, leading first to halting its participation in the markets and later, after the invasion of Ukraine, gradually reducing physical export flows. The discussion will then focus on Russia’s political expectations, which diverge from the EU’s perceptions of Russian energy interests. Among other themes, the importance of Nord Stream 2 has been systematically overestimated. The lecture will cover the EU’s responses – if Russia hits with gas, the EU hits with oil – and then explain the main challenges that Brussels and Moscow face as they deploy energy in the context of a major geopolitical conflict.

This event is part of a research project supported by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and carried out by the UT’s Centre for Eurasian and Russian Studies (CEURUS). It is the first in a series of conversations regarding energy issues and Russia’s role in Europe’s energy (in)security. Inter alia, it aims to identify researchers and students at the UT interested in pushing this conversation further, as part of a capacity building effort in such fields as energy security and Russian studies. Questions and proposals are welcome at any stage and should be addressed to ceurus@ut.ee.