With its reserves of oil and gas the Caspian region will play a key role on European and global energy markets, agreed the participants of the first panel organised at the Caspian Outlook 2008 conference on Sunday.
The EU's traditional energy partners such as Russia, Norway and the Middle East will continue to remain important, but the Caspian Basin will gain in importance.
For the EU, which is striving to diversify its energy sources to dependence on only a handful of suppliers, the region will be important in particular for its gas reserves, the participants said.
Yet with the exception of Russia, there are only a few countries which have a geo-strategy for this region, stressed Bruce Jackson, the president of the Project on Transitional Democracies.
He said the EU could develop a strategy, but it will be forced to do very difficult things, at a minimum confront Russian imperialism.
According to Jackson, the EU will have to put democracy and human rights at the centre of the agenda, and open its markets and institutions to these countries.
Markus Lyra, under-secretary of state at the Finnish Foreign Ministry, said that the EU is already active in the Caspian Basin and action plans in the framework of the bloc's neighbourhood policy are nearing completion.
The speakers highlighted Russia (the biggest supplier of gas to the EU) as a key factor of Europe's energy security.
Carl Bildt, chairman of the Kreab Group and former Swedish PM, said that Gazprom's monopoly on the gas market and insufficient investment raise concerns about the efficiency of Russian supplies.
It is therefore especially important to focus on the Caspian, which could cover 10% of Europe's energy demands.
Vagit Alekperov, president of oil giant Lukoil, explained that the monopoly goes back to the times of the Soviet Union and is "a fact if we want it or not". According to him, the break-up of Gazprom's monopoly would not result in supply stability.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also realises the role that the Caspian will play in the future. Yet acting OPEC Secretary General Mohammed S. Barkindo said the organisation sees the Caspian as a supplementary, not substitute supplier.
The conference ended on Monday with panels on the political dynamics and future of the region, the EU's neighbourhood policy and economic trends and opportunities in the Caspian.
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|