Energy dependency of the EU with focus on Russia

The European Union is becoming increasingly dependent on energy imports. Especially oil and natural gas imports are rising as their production in Europe declines. The most important energy partner of the EU is Russia, which delivers the biggest volumes of oil and natural gas to european countries. The highest rate of energy dependency on Russia can be observed in eastern and central Europe, where diverzification of energy supplies is one of key issues. It is necessary to reduce the energy dependency on russian gas, but at the same time, it is important to build a stable partnership with Russia, which is striving to become a leader at the global energy market, where demand for fossil fuels is rapidly rising. Apart from searching alternative suppliers to russian natural gas in order to achieve higher energy independence, an important role could play alternative energy sources, energy savings or rebirth of nuclear energy.