Research Papers

Focusing on gas, this paper considers how this new member state has responded to EU accession and gas supply disruptions in an attempt to explain government energy security policy shifts since 2009. Through a conceptual lens synthesising the Europeanisation process and regional energy security complex theory. EU dependency on gas imports is increasing, exacerbated by EU enlargement, as new member states are disproportionately dependent on Russian gas. The EU's objective (driven by the Commission and other actors) is to develop and finance infrastructure projects that will facilitate a single internal energy market diversify the Union's gas supplies. This is a particular concern after Russian gas supply disruptions in 2006 and 2009 and concern that Russian foreign policy is explicitly based on exploitation of energy resources and bilateral agreements with member states rather than with the EU as a whole. Considering the development of Bulgarian national security and energy security strategies over time, the paper draws upon elite interviews with actors in the Bulgarian government and non-governmental experts to analyse how the country has adapted to EU membership and committed (rhetorically at least) to a convergence of national preferences with those of the EU in the policy area. The paper also considers how Bulgarian efforts to increase its energy security have been undermined by domestic actors with a vested economic and political interest in sustaining dependence on Russian energy sources, and perceptions of a positive energy dependency on Russia. Weak administrative capacity has also proved to be a salient, and related, factor.