Congress' energy role in the Ukraine crisis

March 25, 2014

Congressional leadership is critical to rebalance the energy terms of engagement in Europe. Energy is at the heart of the ongoing crisis. President Putin relies on oil and gas revenues to pay for his military adventurism and to maintain domestic political support. He wields influence through corporate tie-ups and direct control of gas supplies to individual states.

An ocean away from European markets and a Constitutional Article away from executive power, Congress nonetheless has an affirmative and unambiguous role to play in grounding Putin's energy arsenal.

Read the full article at The Hill.

Neil Brown is a Board Member of The Lugar Center, fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and formerly, as a senior professional staff member, was Republican lead for energy at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Trans-Atlantic Energy Action Project is funded in part by the European Union. Learn more here.