Paper Titles & Abstracts

This paper explores the development of energy import dependency levels for newer EU member states and the evolution of perceptions of energy (in)security over time. Differing levels of energy import dependency exist among EU member states, and newer member states are in general far more dependent than the pre-2004 member states. Focusing on gas, this analysis considers the extent to which the extent to which energy imports have been securitised within several newer member states over time, and how energy security objectives have emerged and developed. Drawing upon primary documents and elite interviews in Brussels, Warsaw, Riga and Sofia, the evolution of intersubjective understandings of energy (in)security and perceptions of positive and negative dependence are investigated. In doing so, this paper evaluates the drivers of this shift in perceptions and corresponding objectives with reference to: 1) EU enlargement and the process of Europeanisation since, and immediately preceding, accession; 2) changing energy and trade interdependencies with Russia; 3) the impact of gas supply disruptions on elite and public opinion.