Human Rights or Energy — The Dilemma

It is now more than a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting sharp reactions from Western countries, Europe included — reactions expressed in, among other things, a raft of economic sanctions. In the event, these sanctions, which relate particularly to the energy sector (Russia being the EU’s prime fossil fuel supplier), have shown up Europe’s extreme energy dependency. The defence of democratic values is not negotiable, but it comes at a cost. And the alternatives for by-passing Russian energy are barely more virtuous, since most fossil fuel producers are to be found in the Middle East, in countries with such glowing human rights records as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar… In fact, unless there is a renewed turn to nuclear power — and even coal — then, as we still await the extensive development of renewable energies, the dilemma between the defence of democracy and freedom, on the one hand, and energy security, on the other, is likely to persist. This is what this latest European Chronicle shows us, rehearsing as it does the recent history of this dilemma and the prospects for its (non-)resolution in the medium term.