SECURITY – AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF

Marek Šolc

Abstract: Energy security and is currently very actual issue. The importance of energy security is also growing because of fast shrinking world and advancing climate changes, which create increasingly powerful pressure on the reorientation of energy from fossil to other types of energy sources. Continuous growth of raises the question of the use of renewable resources. Renewable resources in each country are higher than that of oil, , gas or uranium. Better use of renewables in the EU Commission proposed a legislative proposal in January 2008. The main objective is to make sources accounted for 20% of overall EU energy consumption.

Keywords: energy, security, policy, targets.

1. Introduction Growth in energy and raw material industries and increasing demands on people's quality of life, deepens dependence States on vital resources, including food and the likelihood of creation of raw materials and energy crises, could lead to armed conflict. Since most energy resources are finite, this dependence is even more highlighted. There is a high dependence on steady supplies of raw materials, non-renewable energy resources and their transportation. There may to occur a threat economic prosperity and stability, as well as national security. Imprudent and inefficient occupancy of natural resources can lead to exhaustion and irreversible damage to the environment. Security threats and challenges are dynamic, interconnected and subject to change depending on the internal, regional and global conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to perceive the issue of energy security in the Euro-Atlantic and trans-national context.

2. Energy security It should be noted that energy policy and energy security are particularly undoubtedly a very important topic for all states. The specifically, vulnerability countries of V4 is the fact, that these, countries are heavily dependent on energy supplies from a single source and lack sufficiently integrated energy market. The crisis in 2009, mainly in Slovakia proved that modernization and development projects in energy infrastructure requires less effort and money than the losses they cause interruption of energy supplies. Another very important energy challenge is the rising cost of , which can have very destabilizing effect on the economy based on the use of coal in generation. Simply, we could define energy security as a state guarantee secure access to energy resources. Energy Security means reliable supply of energy and access to energy resources and in the required quantity and quality at reasonable prices. Energy security depends on many variables. The global energy market is not only associated with domestic and international energy supplies, but also the reliability of business

82 partners. Because, there is a rapid loss of the world's oil reserves and rapidly progressing , creating an increasingly powerful force for the reorientation of energy from fossil fuels to other types of energy resources, emphasizes the importance of energy security. Energy security can be seen as a separate aspect of the expanding security state, alongside the military, economic, and environmental safety, or as a complementary aspect of the subject. Perhaps the most noticeable difference in the perception of energy security between countries depends on their energetic and economic situation. [1,9,11] In the narrowest perception of energy security perspective aspect of military security is necessary to ensure that the military component of a crisis state to fulfill their responsibilities in the event of national emergency military attack or natural disaster. That means to allow sufficient fuel and energy so that it can operate the army, emergency services, hospitals, etc. In this case, it is mainly on technical assure of supply through the so-called protection. Critical infrastructure, and the establishment and maintenance of strategic reserves of raw materials (state material reserves). [1] In the case of wider perception we take into account in addition to the technical aspects of the security crisis also the economic, environmental and political aspects. In addition to these aspects of energy security, it also affects the economic interests and political groups across the length of the supply chain, by a customer, over transit to mining, using reminder and prioritization for promoting their own particular interests in the political arena. [1] Definitions of energy security for countries importing energy materials consist mostly of three aspects: - Access to an adequate amount of energy resources, - In an appropriate format, - For an adequate price. At first glance, it is clear that these three optimistic and embracing aspects are not very useful when we try their to use it for analysis. Adequate quantity and form can be analyzed according to historical data on consumption, but the adequate price is more or less misleading notion than economic or analytical term. Now we hear on the economic aspects and the application of the effort to logic security to market is a huge risk. As early as 1988 Giacomo Luciani [2] noted in relation to the primary issue of energy security “security implications of dependence on external sources is merely rhetorical means to achieve a political goal, it would be better to talk about simple economic or commercial risk”. We say about energy security, usually at the state level or the EU, especially in connection with the growth of costs for energy, stable and environmental protection. Slovakia is a country with high energy needs and is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels. Slovakia imports all coal, 98% oil, 98% and it's only significant domestic fossil source is lignite. Given the rapid decline of world oil reserves and rapidly progressing climate change there is increasing pressure for the reorientation of energy from fossil fuels to other forms of energy sources. This is called renewable energy, which is related to the importance of energy security. We conclude that energy security is a reliable supply of energy and access to energy resources and fuel in the required quantity, quality and reasonable prices. Energy security depends mainly on security of supply and the technical safety of energy facilities. Furthermore, depending on several variables, because the global energy market is not only associated with domestic and international energy supplies, but also the reliability of business partners.[3]

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In a State that is dependent on imports of fossil fuels (SR), energy security depends mainly on external geopolitical aspects of storage options of energy sources and their replacement by other sources. These issues remain the responsibility of the governments of EU member states, but gradually switching energy markets in the EU in a strong block moves some of the issues of energy policy within the framework of the EU policy agenda. The EU estimates that in 2030, will be dependence on imports of fossil fuels as follows [3,12]: - 66 % coal consumption, - 90 % oil consumption, - 80 % gas consumption. These facts mean for the EU, particularly vulnerable and strategically disadvantageous future and forcing the Member States and seek to strengthen the tools to increase their own energy security. Such tools are particularly [3]: - Proper energy mix, - Reducing the energy intensity of the economy, - The use of indigenous and renewable energy sources, - Reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. The importance of energy security is increasing more and therefore it is necessary to emphasize that energy policy and energy security are very important and actual topics for all States. Uniform global energy policy does not exist because each state and the community of states to create their own energy policy, according to internal and external conditions. Today, there is a constant increase in electricity consumption. To minimize the loss of transmission is appropriate to make close to where they will be consumed. The EU Commission has proposed a better use of renewable energy sources in the legislative proposal in January 2008. One of the goals is to make renewable energy sources accounted for up to 20% of total EU energy consumption. Renewable energy sources are much larger than most people think. The amount of usable energy from renewable sources in each country is higher than reserves of oil, coal, gas or uranium. Significant use of renewable sources, fuels, and natural gas expected to result from stricter emission limits of air pollutants will decrease coal consumption.

3. EU energy policy A renewed interest in the development of a new Energy Policy for Europe is supported by a number of factors including: continuing difficult situation on the oil and gas, growing dependence on imports and the resulting need to diversify, the growing importance of climate change, the need for increased transparency on energy markets and further integration of national energy markets. Under the influence of the increasing demand by the European Commission in March 2006 issued a "Green Paper on Secure, Competitive and for Europe", which laid the basis for a discussion on the future of European energy and It outlines the current and future challenges and possible solutions. Was intended three main objectives in the book [4,5]: - Increase security of supply, - Ensuring the competitiveness of European economies and the availability of affordable energy, - Promoting environmental sustainability and combating climate change.

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To ensure the achievement of these goals has been defined six priority areas and their associated activities: - Energy as a source of jobs and growth in Europe: completion of the European internal market in electricity and gas (European grid, priority interconnection plan, investment in generation capacity, same conditions: the importance of separating of activity, raising the competitiveness of European industry); - Addressing competitiveness and security of supply: increasing the sustainability and diversity of the energy mix; - Solidarity between Member States: the path to the internal politics of the European energy supply (increasing security of supply in the internal market, rethinking access EU to the emergency oil and gas stocks and preventing disruptions); - Tackling climate change (More for less: Europe as the most energy efficient region, expanding the use of renewable energy sources, carbon capture and geological storage); - Encouraging innovation: European strategic plan; - Towards a coherent external energy policy (reducing import dependency especially in oil and gas, a clear policy of diversification of gas supplies, transforming energy dialogues on energy partnerships, effective response to emergencies, the creation of pan-European energy community, integrating energy into other external policies, energy to promote the development).

4. The concept of energy policy Energy Policy in the Slovak Republic is governed by a strategic document, approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic at it's meeting on 11 January 2006. Previous Energy Policy of 2000 was a social and economically overcome. In the Czech Republic is such a document National Energy Policy of the Czech Republic, which was approved by the Government of the Czech Republic on 10 March 2004. It has gone through several changes, the most recent addition of the Czech energy policy was made in 2010. We can not say that the legal form of the receipt of the documents in the two republics was happily chosen, because these concepts are accepted by governments and resolutions are not binding documents, such as government regulation or law. Both of these documents define the basic objectives and framework for the development of energy in the long term. Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic is a strategic and sufficiently flexible document which defines the basic objectives and the development of energy in the long term until 2030, in the Czech Republic until 2050. [6]

5. Slovakia and the Czech Republic as a transit country Slovakia and the Czech Republic as a transit country receive substantial funds of transport for natural gas and crude oil through their territories. Although the Slovak Republic has the means of transit of energy resources through its territory, this situation represents a source of risk. This situation is problematic for Slovakia significantly, mainly due to lack of diversification of energy suppliers and because of the economic benefits of the Slovak economy. The gas crisis in 2009 prompted the Russian Federation in the correctness of the construction plan as the gas pipeline to start full operation to transport 80 bill. m³ of natural gas from the Russian Federation, which is 10 bill. more, than the flow in the pipeline in Slovakia in 2010. Brotherhood pipeline has a capacity of up to 90 billion cubic meters of gas, but he never non-utilization so entirely. Europe imports

85 from about 20% of the of gas, and of this amount 80% is flowing through Ukraine and Slovakia. We assume that part of the volume destined for Western Europe is moved to Nord Stream. This is not happy news for Slovakia or the Czech Republic. [6,10] Nord Stream is but the first priority for Russia - the way, to deal with a difficult partner Ukraine. Czech Republic after running into full operation Nord Stream can also be compromised position in the country of transit because you have some important contract customers to the gas pipeline (Germany, Denmark, ).

6. What could be options and alternatives for solution the issue of energy security In the Slovak Republic will be necessary to ensure the production of electricity at the level before 2007. Energy Strategy of the Slovak Republic offers the realization of the main objective of energy policy, increasing the performance of existing production facilities and construction of new production facilities, especially completing 3 and 4 block Plant Mochovce, , renewable energy plants – e.g. , , , and the like. The Czech Republic also significantly supports the generation of electricity, mainly from nuclear power plants. In the case of nuclear power, the question is to what extent it is possible to consider nuclear power as a safe (in terms of actual production, in terms of supply of from Russia mainly, in terms of his future disposal). [6,7] Slovakia and the Czech Republic put great emphasis on the production of energy from renewable sources. On one side, forcing them to comply with international treaties and from the other side of the effort to secure domestic energy (hydropower, ). However, this must be balanced with economic impacts on consumers and the electricity market. Other ways to ensure energy security include reducing energy consumption as one of the fundamental pillars of sustainable development and improving energy efficiency, construction and development of local energy sources, smart grids, as well as the management and transport systems. State energy policy is a document to its strategic nature, but it is not mandatory for producers, energy consumers. Therefore, the future direction is subject to a number of factors that in the short definition is not possible to predict exactly in terms of the specific possibilities of its application. How to stabilize by the operational and pragmatic solutions to its content approved by the longer term remains open and unanswered question.

7. Conclusion The importance of energy security continues to grow, so it should be stressed that energy security and energy policy are very important and timely topic now. Uniform global energy policy does not exist because each state and the community of states to shape the energy policy according to its own internal and external relationships. The energy security is usually considered by the State or the EU, mainly in connection with the growth of the cost of producing energy, stability of energy supply and environmental protection. The issue of "energy security" plays a key role. Prevalent belief that consumer capitalism and ecological sustainability are compatible and interdependent. Technological innovation, market management tools and perfectionism are regarded as the best strategy to achieve sustainability, although empirical experience suggests otherwise. In order to achieve the desired objectives and priorities within the framework of energy security, it is necessary to increase energy into account the impact on the environment, promote market development in parallel with

86 the reduction of energy import dependency and completes the transition to a competitive energy sector.

References

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