THE POSITION OF ENERGY SECURITY IN THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Andrej Zrak

Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics in Bratislava, Dolnozemská cesta 1/b, 852 35 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

The paper deals with the position of energy security in the foreign policy of the Slovak Republic. Its aim is to analyze the extent to which the need to ensure energy security is influencing the foreign policy orientation of the country. Energy is a key factor that affects all sectors of the economy and is one of the cornerstones of the economy. Energy security is part of national security and is one of the instruments to ensure sovereignty, political independence and economic security. For a small country like Slovakia, it is strategically important for its foreign policy to lead to energy security. From the point of view of Slovakia, the most important energy commodity is natural gas, so the paper is mainly focused on the issue of its safe supplies. Slovak diplomacy must negotiate with many parties, such as Ukraine, Russia or the European Union, to ensure them. The paper therefore explores its actions towards these partners to ensure energy security. It also compares the coherence of Slovak energy security objectives with the objectives of the European Union. The issue of the reaction of Slovak diplomacy to projects threatening the security of gas supply, such as Nord Stream 2, has also been taken up. This work therefore offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the steps taken in Slovakia’s foreign policy in order to ensure energy security.

Key words

energy security, foreign policy, Slovakia, natural gas

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