This thesis is about EU energy security in relation to Russia and its proposed Nord Stream 2 project. In this thesis the Copenhagen School theory on securitisation is applied with the help of a combination of content analysis and discourse analysis as methods, which will together with the theory become the framework of this study. While the focal point will fall on EU’s Parliament and how the project Nord Stream 2 is securitised within this EU structure, where the project itself will serve as an exhibitory example of the energy security relationship between EU and Russia. The main findings that are made in this thesis are that the securitising actors in the debate are the countries not the political parties and that Russia, not Nord Stream 2 is the true object of securitisation. In addition to that it was established that there is little unity amongst the EU member states, which is supported by the finding in previous academic studies that have been conducted within the field.

This thesis deals with the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2009 in terms of energy and energy security. In the introductory theoretical part the notion of "energy security" is defined and the chapter analyzes energy in the EU primary law too, including jurisdiction of the issue to a particular Union's institutions. In the practical part of the thesis the priorities of the EU in energy and energy security are described and steps that CZ PRES made to increase EU energy security are analyzed. Particular emphasis is placed on the gas crisis and the general supply of gas, which played during the Czech Presidency a significant role. Final chapters focus on the shift in the EU's energy security during the forthcoming Swedish and the Spanish Presidency.

Big dangerous Russia, environmental thief or house warmer? The Nord Stream pipelines are a highly debated theme in Europe and the EU. A number of different countries will be subject to the pipelines direct or indirect. This paper aims to figure out what kind of threats and possibilities Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany consider to be the consequences with the pipelines. The study takes as a standpoint the area of security studies and the widened of the same. The three standpoints within the security study that will be used are military security, environmental security and energy security. It is a comparative study that has been done with help of a text analysis. The analysis concludes that Sweden is the country of the four that finds the most threats with the pipeline. Sweden thinks Nord Stream is a threat within all of the three securities mentioned above even though Sweden also see a possibility within energy security. Denmark, on the other hand, does not see a threat at all and Germany and Finland see a threat within the environmental area but not within the two other areas. They also see a possibility within the energy security.

This thesis deals with the geopolitical aspects resulting from the increasing EU dependence on natural gas imports from the external suppliers. In addition to the investigation into he current situation of the EU market with natural gas, nature of major suppliers is explored, the thesis tries to identify the main risks to the security of supplies, especially the possibility of politically motivated supply disruption. From a broader perspective, it scrutinizes whether the natural gas market is driven by the market-based principles and regulated by international organizations (Market and Institutions scenario) or the bilateral relations between producer and consumer are the decisive factor (Regions and Empires scenario). Furthermore, the analysis of relevant documents issued by the EU institutions is also included and the thesis aims to assess the feasibility of the single 2 European external energy policy. Finally, the thesis includes two case-studies: the first one is dealing with energy relations between Russia and Belarus and Ukraine. The second one is dedicated to the Nord Stream gas pipeline project.

Entrepreneurship is often linked to some of the most compelling economic and social issues of our time and can therefore be emphasised as essential and relevant. This thesis puts entrepreneurial behaviour in the spotlight and adopts the theoretical lens that enterprises may act as rent-seekers, striving to influence the distribution of income and wealth at the political level for their personal benefit. Because the resources expended on political influence can be seen as non-productive, this entrepreneurial behaviour harms innovation, competitiveness, and the economy as a whole. This work is based on two case studies from two institutionally, politically and socially different contexts and aims to understand the rent-seeking behaviour of enterprises under conditions of governance. Accordingly, cases of Anaklia Deep Sea Port in Georgia and Nord Stream 2 in Germany are brought up for further scrutiny and analysis. The study emphasises the relevance of entrepreneurship as a contextual phenomenon and concludes that governance conditions of a country can have different influences on the rent-seeking behaviour of enterprises. Moreover, this study develops a conceptual generalisation and provides opportunities for further studies.

In this paper I investigate the energy cooperation between the EU and Russia from the political and economic points of view. The relevance of the issue is due to the growing role of energy sector, the need for security of energy supply and demand and for political and economic balance of power in the region, and closer economic integration. Two theoretical approaches, geopolitical and bureaucratic, guiding the research, explain the behavior of protagonists. To better understand the present level of cooperation I analyze the background and dynamics of EU - Russia energy trade relations. As a case study, I investigate the Nord Stream project as an example of successful cooperation of Germany as an EU member state and Russia in this field. I discuss challenges for the healthy mutual partnership in the energy sector, namely, high politicization of the issue, monopolization of Russian energy sector and low sustainability of Russian economic development, and mistrust between the protagonists. I attempt to identify possible policy changes aimed to improve this cooperation and achieve fruitful partnership, security and stability. Key words: Russia, EU, energy, cooperation, Realpolitik, international relations, oil, gas, energy dialogue, ECT, security, balance of power, geopolitics, interest groups,...

The thesis focuses on current diversification scenarios in the field of gas supply the Visegrad Group (V4) and the Russian Federation relying on the model of asymmetrical interdependence. Russian Federation, the main supplier of natural gas to this region, has lost its status of a reliable partner due to the gas wars with Ukraine in 2006 and 2009, which have negatively affected the supply of natural gas to the EU countries. The research focuses on the current diversification options of V4 countries related to their suppliers and supply routes with respect to their relationship with the Russian Federation; the diversification options for the purchasing markets of the Russian Federation are also analyzed. The author validates the hypothesis that energy relations among the Visegrad countries and the Russian Federation in the field of gas supply are largely controlled by the asymmetric interdependence that is currently exacerbating tensions among the set actors. Current diversification scenarios are presented and evaluated, with the aim of assessing the importance of the projects with regard to actors' energy security. Keywords: interdependence, energy security, diversification, gas supply, gas interconnector, V4, Energy Union, Russian Federation, Nord Stream II, LNG

The thesis deals with the process of reconciliation in Polish-German relations after 1945. Lily Gardner Feldman's invented a concept which defines the prerequisites for the reconciliation process. In her concept she defines four essential pillars of the reconciliation process - history, leadership, institutions and international context. Although Polish-German relations have undergone a long development and both sides have built up a stable and firm mutual relationship, it is possible to see changes within the four categories mentioned. The aim of this thesis is to outline the process of reconciliation in Polish-German relations after 1945 and capture the qualitative changes in mutual relations during the first rule of the Law and Justice party between 2005 and 2007, which represented a critical point in Polish-German relations and a change in the Polish foreign policy towards Germany since 1989. In the first part the thesis discusses the development of the Polish-German relations until the end of the 1990s, and in the second part of the thesis, the concept is applied to the Law and Justice party government's "critical" period (2005-2007), focusing on the four categories mentioned and on the most discussed topics. In the final part of the thesis there follows an evaluation of the validity of the used...

The diploma thesis is focused on the energy security of the European union, specifically on the import of natural gas. The dependence on the import of natural gas is one of the key questions for the energy security of the EU. One of the tools for dealing with this issue is diversification of the suppliers a searching for a new sources of energy to sustain the economical development of the EU. One of the goals of the EU' Energy security strategy is to lower its dependence on gas imports from Russia. In the lights of recent events, when the gas supply was disrupted a few times, because of the events on Ukraine, Russian aggression in the eastern part of Ukraine and annexation of the Crimea, EU is looking for a better alternative. The research is trying to find out what is the role of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will bypass Ukraine and go straight from Russia to Germany and will have impact on other Central and Eastern European countries. The question is whether the project is viable vis-a-vis energy security framework metrics and whether there are better alternatives such as the Southern Gas Corridor or the possibility to import liquified natural gas LNG from elsewhere. Apart from the energy security framework the geopolitics is taken into an account and will try to explain the power...

Master thesis "Czech Republic and its connection to new LNG terminals - strengthening of the gas security" examines the level of gas security in the Czech Republic. Dependency of the Czech Republic on gas supplies from foreign countries is almost 100 %. Russian federation is dominant supplier with roughly 75 % of the supplies. High dependency on one exporter is considered hazardous from energy security perspective. The Czech government should strive to change and improve this situation. The diversification is considered as a useful tool to improve the gas security. Currently there are new gas projects built in neighboring countries, which may influence energy security of the Czech Republic. The study researches the impact of these new projects on the Czech Republic. Namely we focused on gas pipeline Nord Stream and its Czech connection Gazelle, which will connect North Germany and Bavaria through the Czech Republic. Second project is gas network called "the North - South Corridor" connecting Baltic and Adriatic Sea. The North - South corridor may be potentially linked up to the new LNG terminals Świnoujście in Poland or Adria in Croatia. Furthermore, there are long-lasting plans to open new "South" gas route from Caspian region to Europe. The main goal of this thesis is to explore real...