PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR ENSURING ENERGY SECURITY IN PARTNER COUNTRIES OF THE EU’S EASTERN PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE

The article analyzes the energy potential of such the partner countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative as Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The key mechanisms of cooperation between the EU and the countries of the EaP region, represented in particular through the thematic platform of the EU’s Eastern Partnership Initiative – “Energy Security”, the EU4Energy program, as well as the multilateral agreement “Energy Charter”, have been singled out. It has been found that the priority areas of cooperation between official Brussels and the EaP countries in the energy dimension are the following: 1) strengthening solidarity between states; 2) support for infrastructure development and diversification of energy supplies; 3) harmonization of energy policy and legislation. It has been determined that Azerbaijan is the only country of the EaP region which is energy independent. It has been emphasized that the Eastern Partnership region is important for the EU in terms of energy transit and ensuring of energy security. The data of the World Energy Trilemma Index 2021 for the EaP partner countries, which are calculated by the World Energy Council, have been highlighted and an assessment of the state of the energy sector of these countries has been given. According to this index, countries are assessed for their ability to provide sustainable energy in three dimensions, namely: energy security, energy equity (accessibility and affordability), environmental sustainability. The focus is on the Energy Transition Index, which has been used to evaluate the potential of the EaP countries in the process of transition to alternative energy