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Full profile page: Bc. Jiří Waldhauser

1 Introduction Energy security is a very often used term not only on the political scene in the Czech Republic, but in all countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The number of gas crises that the region has witnessed in recent years, which have seriously undermined the ability of some states to provide the most basic services to their citizens, has intensified considerations of energy as a central part of the security architecture. Tensions in the Arab world, the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, dwindling global fossil fuel reserves and growing energy demands in newly industrialized countries are just some of the current challenges posed by a very specific geopolitical situation in the Central European region: the dominance of two strong players. with which the region borders.

2 The concept of energy security Most authors believe that the concept of energy security first appeared in 1973, at the time of the first oil shock, when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, the forerunner of OPEC) declared an oil embargo during the ongoing Yom Kippur War to countries supporting Israel. As a result of this embargo, the price of oil quadrupled overnight, dragging the developed world into a deep, prolonged recession accompanied by high inflation. The Islamic Revolution in one of the world's largest oil fields, Iran, and the ensuing war with another oil power, Iraq, in the late 1970s, intensified thinking about energy as a key sector of international security.

3 Dimensions and components of energy security The fact that the understanding of EB in the media and political discourse is very simplified and deals only with partial aspects of the whole, while completely ignoring others, is not surprising. Unfortunately, this is also the case in a large number of professional publications. Sometimes EB is considered synonymous with European dependence on Russian gas supplies, other times only the issue of oil is emphasized, while other raw material resources are neglected, and in some cases EB is narrowed to greenhouse gas emissions and the global warming they cause. It is also very common to focus exclusively on the external dimension of EB and to completely ignore the internal one.

4 Germany and its influence on the energy security of Central Europe Germany, together with the Russian Federation, is one of the most important players in the European energy field and the influence of its policy on the EB of Central European countries is considerable. The following part of the thesis focuses on the current energy policy of Germany, explains its effects on Central Europe and tries to recommend to the V4 countries measures that should be taken in response to German energy goals.

5 Conclusion The first and probably the most important finding from the analysis of the EB situation of the V4 countries is that despite the existence of a number of potential and direct threats the situation is by no means critical and concerns, often bordering on hysteria, which part of the public have are unfounded. The governments of the V4 countries have a wide range of external and internal energy policy instruments in their hands, which they can use effectively to ensure their long-term energy security.

Energy security is a very often used term not only on the political scene in the Czech Republic, but in all countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The number of gas crises that the region has witnessed in recent years, which have seriously undermined the ability of some states to provide the most basic services to their citizens, has intensified considerations of energy as a central part of the security architecture. Tensions in the Arab world, the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, dwindling global fossil fuel reserves and growing energy demands in newly industrialized countries are just some of the current challenges posed by a very specific geopolitical situation in the Central European region: the dominance of two strong players. with which the region borders.