ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complex energy relationship between Europe and Russia. Gas and oil revenues are of great importance to Russia, and the EU views energy as a key component of security and still depends on Russia as a supplier of energy. Europe, as a key market for Russian energy exports, has been a key part of Russia's energy strategy at least since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The global concern about the depletion of natural reserves and the rising demand for gas and oil supplies has upgraded energy to a major security issue. President Putin wants to avoid describing Russia as an 'energy superpower' but it has become more and more evident that the Russian political leadership puts its hopes both on the domestic and the international spheres in energy. The politicization of each of these issues does have practical consequences, but what emerges from a closer examination is that the outcomes are not always in conflict with commercial considerations or as negative to energy relations as might be expected intuitively.
