Abstract
Energy security has been defined "as guaranteeing the physical availability of energy products at objective and reasonable and/or affordable prices over the short and long term". According to the European Commission energy security is mainly about economy: "Energy supply security must be geared to ensuring the proper functioning of the economy, the uninterrupted physical availability at a price which is affordable while respecting environmental concerns ". Oil and gas are the main energy resources necessary for European economy, however the differences between these two resources have led some experts to divide the definition of energy security.
Gas security "could be defined as the guarantee that the gas volumes demanded by customers will be available at a reasonable price" when oil security would be the "reliable and adequate supply of energy for a reasonable price" . These two definitions of energy security illustrate the domination of oil and gas in the current debate on energy security as well as the complexity of the notion.
Currently the import rates in oil and gas for Europe are eighty and sixty percent respectively and if some European countries own some energy resources (Barents) most of the hydrocarbon resources remain located in unstable and non democratic countries though Russia and Iran possess sixty percent of world gas resources. In addition to these general facts the oil and gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine/Belarus reminded Europe of how dependent it is for its energy supply .
To deal with this competitive environment Europe is provided with two frameworks which might impact Europe's energy security: NATO and the EU. After having reported the complexity of the notion as well as the one of the context of energy security in Europe, one can wonder to what extent have NATO and the EU managed to provide energy security to Europe according to their possibilities.
