The Program: “Sanctions, Nord Stream and LNG: Dilemmas for European Energy Security”

This presentation will focus on challenges facing the European energy sector today. Sanctions on Russia threaten to backfire resulting in shortages of the oil and natural gas supply, pushing the EU to diversify its energy imports. There is no agreement in Europe on how this can be achieved. Some hope that American liquefied natural gas will save Europeans from the clutches of the Russian bear. Others argue that cheap Russian pipeline gas has no real alternative and should be excluded from sanctions. Green economists believe that renewables are the only way to go to cut Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels. Time is running out and difficult decisions need to be made before winter arrives on the European continent.

Presenter: Yuri Bosin, Ph. D

Doctor Bosin holds two PhD degrees: one in Political Science from the University of New Mexico and the
other in History and Asian studies from the Russian Academy of Sciences. His research interests include
energy politics, security, and cooperation in the Eurasian region with a special focus on Russia,
Afghanistan, Central Asia and the states of the former Soviet Union. Most recently, he has been studying
various aspects of electoral policies in the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Bosin’s research has been
supported by private and public foundations, including the Fulbright program, IREX, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Open Society Institute, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. Currently, Dr. Bosin teaches for the Department of Political Science at UNM and works on a series of collaborative projects at UNM’s Institute for Social Research.