Russo-Ukrainian Gas War: The Lack of a Common Strategy Jeopardizes European Unity

摘要

Despite low attention level in Western media, Ukrainian crisis is not just a local issue, and it is going to jeopardize European integration process due to geopolitical key position of Ukraine in natural gas delivery system. In facts, besides military race, carrying real dangers, a parallel gas war is staging in Ukraine, where U.S.A. – new hydrocarbon exporter thanks to 'shale revolution' – is trying to break the Russian monopoly on Europe, by opening new energetic supply routes, in order to prevent Russia to use this strategic tool to control Europe countries. However, the low price of oil barrel is going to jeopardize U.S.A. plans. In the meantime, Ukraine is close to default due to debt crisis. The decrease of domestic production of energy – caused by political and geopolitical reason related to civil war and annexation of Crimea to Russia – worsens the crisis and prevent Ukraine to free from energetic dependence from Russia, a Moscow's tool to influence internal situation. Russia is trying to overcome Ukrainian bottleneck by opening new routes for Europe, in order to keep monopoly in energetic European marketplace avoiding access of U.S.A. shale gas. In this scenario, the main problem for Europe is the lack of a common strategy: divided in Russian-friendly countries, anti-Russian and 'lone wolves', European countries pursue their own energetic policies, weakening European Union and threating to bring Europe to a new division in spheres of influence.