ENERGY REGIONALISM IN WIDER EUROPE: SUB-REGIONAL ENERGY DYNAMICS AND THE EU'S EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has taken concrete steps to enhance its energy security and reduce its dependence on Russia. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further highlighted the critical dimension of the energy crisis between Russia and the EU. This study emphasizes the vital role of sub-regional energy dynamics in regional policy formulation and criticizes the EU's regional approach by assessing the EU's Eastern Partnership through the Caucasus Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and the Northeast Europe Eastern Partnership countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus). In this realm, countries' recent initiatives will be investigated to demonstrate how they cope with energy security issues. In the end, the article underlines the necessity for the EU to adopt tailor-made sub-regional energy policies. For Northeast Europe Eastern Partnership countries, the EU needs to support energy market liberalization and stability, invest in critical infrastructural developments, foster effective dispute resolution mechanisms, and maintain transparent transit conditions. For Caucasus Eastern Partnership countries, the EU needs to facilitate multilateral energy cooperation and dialogue, promote energy market liberalization, and facilitate energy interconnection. In short, strong political leadership and continuous efforts to foster collaboration and interconnectivity in wider Europe are necessary to enhance energy security.