Abstract
In 2008, Russia sold 160 billion cubic meters of gas to the European Union (EU), which represented 70% of Russian gas exports, 30% of the EU's needs and 50% of its imports. For over thirty years, the Russian company Gazprom has supplied the EU with most of the gas required by it. Gazprom plays a key role in the relations between the EU and Russia. As this energy partnership combines trade, economic, political and strategic issues, the development of gas trade has been accompanied by disputes and tensions during the 2000s. In this essay, we are going to see why gas trade causes troubles and the main issues and prospects raised by Russia/EU gas trade.
