The European Union and the good governance of energy resources: Practicing what it preaches?

摘要

The good governance of energy resources and its role in the development of oil and gas producing countries is an area of growing interest in the global agenda. The European Union (EU), as an actor that has the double condition of being a major importer of oil and gas as well as a so-called "normative power", promotes the development of resource governance standards in the Global South. This article analyzes the role of the EU in improving the governance of energy resources, not only from an institutional perspective but also regarding the practical implications that such a normative approach has on European oil and gas import patterns. The paper explores whether EU's oil and gas imports have been affected by the policies of improving transparency and good resource governance in the oil and gas extractive sector, or if these policies have been ineffective in shaping their geographical origin. It tries to address empirically the link between the level of resource governance in oil and gas exporting countries and the EU's oil and gas geographical import pattern.