Abstract
The article overviews approaches to the diversification of gas supplies in the framework of the Three Seas Initiative. The modern geopolitical situation in Eastern and Central Europe is characterized by transformation processes in the energy sector. Due to the implementation of decarbonization policy in the European Union and subsequent shift from coal as a main energy source, a need in alternative fuel sources, such as natural gas, emerges. Therefore, a significant increase in natural gas consumption is expected, which raises a number of issues, such as dependence on a single gas supplier and orientation of the EU’s gas transmission system in East-West direction only. This issue is crucial for Eastern and Central European states, due to the underdeveloped gas infrastructure in the region and heavy dependence on a single gas supplier, such as Russia or Turkey. Hence, the Three Seas Initiative is considered as a powerful tool, designed to develop energy, transport and digital infrastructure of the region in the North-South direction, where one of the most potentially promising projects within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative is represented by the development of gas infrastructure, aimed at solving the diversification of supplies in the gas market in Eastern and Central Europe. The implementation of developed gas infrastructure and diversification of gas supplies consists of several regional projects that are relevant for those countries in the region in which they are implemented in particular and for all member states of the Three Seas Initiative in general. The main purpose of the implementation of these projects is the creation of a unified natural gas transportation infrastructure in Eastern Europe along the North-South axis. The result of such a grand reorganization in the field of gas supplies to Europe will be an increase in the number of independent suppliers in the European gas market and a decrease in the dependence of the EU countries on gas supplies from Russia. In the article, the author traced in detail the tendency of the formation of energy infrastructure along the North-South axis with focus on the projects that are being implemented by each of the participating countries within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative. This approach allows to assess the scale and integrity of the gas transportation infrastructure, that is being created in the Eastern Europe region and its contribution to the common European energy security policy.
Highlights
The Three Seas Initiative (TSI) is an ambitious project in the Central and Eastern European states, which offers great opportunities for the development of energy, transport and digital infrastructure in the countries of the region
If we look at the TSI member states, most of them are former members of the Soviet sphere of influence
The overview shows the planned amounts of investments that will be attracted and directed for the implementation of these projects from both the governments of the interested states and from the European Union and private investors. This approach to financing shows the extreme interest of the TSI member states in the diversification of gas suppliers to ensure the rapid and flexible adaptation of the gas transportation infrastructure to the increasingly dynamic gas market in the region, which is characterized by gas transit needs, the volumes of which are difficult to predict
Summary
The Three Seas Initiative (TSI) is an ambitious project in the Central and Eastern European states, which offers great opportunities for the development of energy, transport and digital infrastructure in the countries of the region. After the first TSI forum in Dubrovnik, the Three Seas Initiative is becoming a new format for strengthening cooperation between the EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe, the ultimate goal of which is to increase their economic and political opportunities, as well as to ensure security and sovereignty within the European Union. All TSI member states, except Austria, were closed off from the rest of Europe by the USSR’s Iron Curtain. This has led to the fact that the EU member
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