Energy policy of The European Union and importance of the petrol and natural gas resources of Azerbaijan

Being second biggest energy consumer of the world European Union aims to get cheaper, more qualified and uninterrupted energy service to its consumers. Targets of the Energy Policy of the European Union are to strengthen competition capacity, provide secure energy supply, protect environment, reduce share of coal, increase share of natural gas in total energy consumption, realization secure nuclear energy and encourage renewable energy. To be another power center the European Union should supply secure, uninterrupted, clean and cheaper energy, which its economy need, and all of its energy sources must be diversified. There are several popular attempts to achieve these goals such as rational use of limited energy sources, application of saving measures, effective use of renewable energy sources and establishing single energy market for effective control across the union. Moreover, in case of any possible energy crises in the future, diversification of energy sources could be very help-full. For an uninterrupted energy supply from the Caspian basin, in this occasion, some new pipelines ought to be constructed. To provide necessary energy from outside particularly from Russia is not safe enough, as it proved itself several times. As stability in the Middle East region is very fragile, the Caspian region gains priority for providing alternative energy resources and transportation routes. This thesis aims to analyze importance of energy resources of Azerbaijan for the security of energy supply to the European Union. Also, common energy policy of the EU was examined by using comparison among Neighbourhood Policy, Competition Policy, and Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. Keywords: European Union, Energy Policy, Azerbaijan, Oil, Natural Gas, TAP, TANAP.