Energy import dependency in European Union countries: A Study on the examining of the determining factors

Today, energy has become an indispensable part of human life. It is one of the essential factors in the development of countries, products, and industries. At the same time, it is an undeniable element that impacts countries' development and welfare levels. Energy import is when the missing energy is met through imports due to the need for more resources in the country to meet the energy needs. Countries' dependence on imported energy products causes them to become dependent on foreign energy. On the other hand, energy dependency affects countries economically and politically; It is a concept that has a vital role in shaping foreign policy. This study examined the factors affecting energy import dependency in European Union countries. Energy import dependency was used as the dependent variable, and economic growth, real effective exchange rate, and natural gas imports were used as the independent variables. Annual data for 26 EU countries for the period 2012-2020 are included in the study. In order to see the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic in the years 2019 and 2020, a model was created. In another model, the effects of the European debt crisis were also considered by including all years in the analysis. In the study in which the panel data analysis method was used, the analysis was performed with the fixed effect and random effect Arellano, Froot and Rogers estimators according to the results of the diagnostic tests. As a result of the analysis, it has been found that economic growth, real effective exchange rate, and natural gas imports had a positive effect on energy import dependency.