Pipeline harmonization instead of alternative pipelines: Why the pipeline ‘Cold war’ needs to end

The countries of the European Union are now so dependent on Russian energy resources that this has given Moscow a highly effective tool to put political pressure not only on them but also on those countries like Belarus and Ukraine across which these resources flow to reach Europe.  Not surprisingly, European Union countries have looked for other sources, including the Caspian basin states.  But what is troubling is that these sources are inevitably modified by adjectives like “alternative,” a conscious or unconscious reflection of a view that there is an inherent confrontation between Russia and the rest of the world on energy issues ...