Gas from the Russian Federation accounts for a quarter of the consumption in the European Union and for more than 40% of its imports. In 2010 essentially all of these imports depended on transit through either Belarus or Ukraine, both being major importers of Russian gas themselves. On both...

For a long time European gas markets used to be dominated by `national champions', vertically integrated firms, controlling imports, transit lines and distribution networks. In its drive to create a common market, the EU commission is trying to overcome this fragmentation by liberalizing...

The realization of international energy distribution networks requires cooperation and the sharing of costs and benefits. Economic incentives, at a country level, to join an international network depend on how net surplus would be distributed, which in turn depends on a variety of factors:...