ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what scope exists for the integration of regional energy markets in the South Caucasus on the basis of international rules and principles recognized inside the European Union. It provides an overview of the energy markets of each of the three South Caucasus states: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The chapter explains how the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) evolved as an intergovernmental agreement on investment protection in the international – and particularly – Eurasian energy markets and how it serves to promote meaningful energy cooperation. The Energy Charter is an international energy governance organization founded on the basis of a series of intergovernmental documents promoting cooperation and energy security across the territories of its member countries. The chapter assesses the relevance of the Energy Charter for the South Caucasus, giving particular attention as to whether it is an instrument, which can foster regional market integration in this area of strategic and geopolitical interest for the international community.
