The North-West of Russia is characterized by a large renewable energy resource base in geographic proximity to the EU. At the same time, EU Member States are bound by mandatory renewable energy targets which could prove to be costly to achieve in the current budgetary context and which often...

This chapter argues that the innovative approach to governance in the context of EU external energy efficiency has merits given the current deadlock in the negotiation of an international climate change and energy architecture. However, the current implementation of this policy is unlikely to be...

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases will require the development of carbon management technologies that are not currently available or that are not currently cost-effective. While market mechanisms such as carbon pricing must play a central role in stimulating the development of these...

Following the liberalization and privatization of the electricity market, Russia is now reforming the heating sector. Similarly to the electricity market restructuring, the trigger for the heat reform is the necessity to attract investments in the modernization of this sector. The existing...

This paper analyses the ECT from the perspective of the protection of Russian investments in downstream energy markets, in particular in the EU. Based on a primarily legal approach, this paper takes the Russian perspective and focuses on jurisdictional issues relating to the possibility for...

Although the Ukraine conflict and the resulting political hostility between Russia and the West have put a stop to the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue, the mutual benefits of energy cooperation and cross-border energy investments are undeniable. Taking these mutual benefits into account, energy would...

According to the liberalized electricity markets paradigm, free market prices are expected to stimulate sufficient investment in production capacity to meet future electricity demand. This implies that electricity producers must be able to recover their operating and investment costs whilst...

Energy efficiency is since long a cornerstone of the European internal energy policy. In recent years, it has also taken an increasing importance in the external energy relations of the EU. Given the obsolete condition of the energy system of many EU neighbouring countries, the potential for...

This paper is a response to the IEA consultation on "Toward a More Efficient and Innovative Electricity Sector in Russia". From a regulatory perspective, it examines the question of investments in electricity production in Russia by focusing on the independence of the regulatory authority (the...

Commission v. Slovakia concerned the cornerstone of the internal energy market – non-discriminatory third party access to the network. It also involved the delicate interaction between EU law and international investment law. In particular, this case relates to the possibility of justifying...