On 11^th September the 5^th prestigious Central European Gas Congress took place in Prague. Mgr. Petr Ocelík, member of the Department of International Relations and European Studies, participated with a contribution named Shale Gas in Poland: The Supply Security Perspective, in which he analyzed the possible impact of shale gas development on the Central Eastern European region. Petr Ocelík is also a member of the team of authors who recently issued the study concerning the issue of shale gas development. This study was published by the IIPS.

International Institute of Political Science released two new studies from researchers of the Department of International Relations and European Studies of Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, which deal with topical issues of energy security - The Future of the Druzhba Pipeline as a Strategic Challenge for the Czech Republic and Poland and Unconventional Sources of Natural Gas: Development and Possible Consequences for the Central Eastern European Region.

From July 24 to August 4, 2012 The Masaryk University Centre in Telč hosted the first Summer School on energy security. The Summer School was organized by the Department of International Relations and European Studies of the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in cooperation with the International Institute of Political Science of MU, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, German operator of electrical networks 50 Hertz and the Embassy of the United States of America.

On the 20th February 2012 a conference named "Ensuring Energy Security in Europe: The Need for a multifaceted approach" was held at the Czernin Palace in Prague. The conference was organised by the Prague Security Studies Institute and the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech republic and the French Embassy in Prague.

On 16th February 2012 a round table named "The Future of the Druzhba pipeline - strategic challenge for Poland and the Czech Republic" was held at the Consulate General of Poland in Ostrava. The presented outcomes were a result of year-long research of International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University and the Centre for Eastern Studies, which was made within a framework of the Czech-Polish Forum.

On 24th January 2012 there was a presentation of a study about the future of unconventional gas resources in Poland and its implications on the region of Central Europe held by the members of Energy section of the IIPS at the Czernin Palace in Prague. The study was realized on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Its main goal was to describe the state of a natural gas market in Poland with regard to the potential of unconventional gas resources and introduce possible scenarios of future gas-supply of the region of Central Europe.

The final issue of the Czech Journal of Political Science in 2011 features the text published by the Energy section members Tomáš Vlček and Břetislav Dančák entitled "Limits of effective naval blockade in international politics." The text analyzes the issue of peaceful naval blockade,which is very frequently used in international relations although has no legal basis. The text illustrates limits of peaceful naval blocade on several specific examples.

The Energy Security Section is glad to inform you that a new study is now available. The study outlines possible impact of new gas infrastructure projects on the gas flows in the Central Europe. The study is opened with SWOT analyses of the Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian gas sectors. Its key parts then focus on the Nord Stream, South Stream and Nabucco gas pipelines, on the system of interconnectors within the North-South Gas Corridor and on the two LNG terminals in Poland and Croatia. The text is further supplemented by the European Union dimension which profoundly influences the Member States' energy development.

Tomáš Vlček, a member of the Energy Security Section of the IIPS, attended an international workshop on the topic "Where is the energetic future of Central and Eastern Europe?". The workshop took place on 16-17 December 2011 in Beladice in the Slovak Republic and was organized by the European Agency for Energy Security (EAFES) and with support of the Centre for European Studies.

On December 9, members of the Energy Security Section of the IIPS, Petr Ocelík and Jan Osička, attended a conference "Energy relations between the EU and Russia: partnership or rivalry?" organized by Metropolitan University Prague. In their conference contributions, they focused on the significance of the unconventional sources of the natural gas development in Europe (esp. in Poland) for the functioning of the gas markets and relations between the Central European countries and the Russian Federation.

Czech Society for European and Comparative Law, Institute of Law and Technology and International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University held the symposium Law and Energy Security. The event took place at the Faculty of Law on November 4th 2011. The first panel moderated by the Head of the Energy Security Section of the IIPS, Filip Černoch, focused on three topics - State and energy sector, Energy mix, Energy policy at the national and European level. The second panel discussed transmission, distribution and trading of the energy. The goal of the event was to foster an interdiscipllinary discussion about this significant, but by the law community rather rather marginilized topic.

On November 23, 2011, Petr Ocelík, member of the Energy Section of the IIPS MU, presented a paper at the conference "Gas sector of he Czech Republic and Slovakia: Topgas 2011" organized by Institute of International Research in Brno. His conference contribution dealt with the topic of interdependence between Russia and the EU. Petr Ocelík also presented the outcomes of the IIPS research project about the impacts of the new and planned transit infrastucture on the region of Central Europe.

Czech Society for European and Comparative Law, Institute of Law and Technology and International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University held the symposium Law and Energy Security. The event took place at the Faculty of Law on Noveber 4th 2011. The goal of the event was to foster an interdiscipllinary discussion about this significant, but by the law community rather rather marginilized topic.

International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung held the trilateral conference "Common Borders, Common Matters" on nuclear energy development in Central Europe.
The event took place on 20th October 2011 in the Czernin Palace in Prague.

The conference focused on nuclear energy, electricity sector and industry development in the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland and the impact on foreign relations and mutual cooperation in the region. The aim of the event was to provide relevant data as well as experts' views and instigate the debate about these important issues.



CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS

PRESENTATIONS of the panelists are available here.

Energy section of the IIPS MU is conducting a project "Unconventional natural gas in Eastern and Central Europe". The aim of the project is to analyze potential, circumstancies, and consequences of unconventional natural gas production in the region. Special attention is paid to Poland as a crucial actor for the Czech Republic in the given context and as a country with relatively highest potential for unconventional natural gas production in Europe. The final outcome of the research will provide various potential scenarios of the future development concerning unconventional natural gas production in the region. Finally, possible consequences and concrete recommendations will be formulated for the Czech Republic.