ABSTRACT
The turbulent sequence of events that took place during 2014 and 2015 arguably turned Ukraine into the most prominent country covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) today. Never before have the destinies of the European Union (EU) and one of its neighbours been so closely interlinked as in the case of Ukraine. The energy sector, more than any other sector, had already been made aware of the mutual interdependence as the result of two gas supply disruptions on Ukrainian territory, in 2006 and 2009. In 2014, the supply disruption ‘only’ affected Ukraine and was discontinued following trouble-shooting by the European Commission. What remained, however, was the impression of a perpetual crisis and a sense of vulnerability that is not likely to help convince the European energy sector of the merits of the ENP stabilizing Ukraine. This is even more the case as the gas supply relations with Ukraine’s other neighbour, Russia, are usually appraised by the industry as having been stable and reliable before the three gas crises. To be fair, however, the traditional model of gas supply from Russia had also been called into question, for reasons that have nothing to do with Ukraine, namely an increased global production of gas and a decline in European demand in recent years. Nevertheless, there is a feeling that Ukraine’s – and the EU’s – deliberate choice to foster their relations and interdependence (also) in the energy sector encouraged Ukraine to further emancipate itself from Russia, which then helped prepare the ground for the current crisis.
