Energy Security in a Time of Geopolitical Disruption

Abstract

Speakers Erica Downs, Columbia University Daniel Scholten, Wageningen University This webinar examines the evolving intersection between Middle East geopolitics and European Union external relations, with a particular focus on energy security in the aftermath of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the escalating instability surrounding Iran. Over the past several years, the EU’s energy strategy has undergone a profound transformation, shifting from dependency on a narrow set of external suppliers toward diversification, resilience-building, and accelerated green transition. However, renewed disruptions in the Middle East, especially those linked to the Iran conflict and instability in key maritime corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz, have re-exposed the EU’s structural vulnerabilities to global energy shocks and geopolitical fragmentation. The webinar will explore how these crises are reshaping the EU’s external energy governance and its broader foreign policy posture. The discussion will analyse development of the EU’s energy strategy within a broader framework of global “energy shock” cycles, where geopolitical conflict, regional instability, and the green transition interact to redefine its external relations.