What the Iran war means for Europe’s energy

This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Szymon Kardaś , senior policy fellow in ECFR's European Power programme, to unpack how war in the Middle East is reshaping Europe’s energy landscape. While Europe is not heavily reliant on Middle Eastern imports directly, disruptions—especially around Qatar and the Strait of Hormuz—are pushing up global prices and intensifying competition with Asian buyers, exposing Europe’s deeper structural vulnerabilities. Together, Mark and Szymon explore the risk of renewed dependence on Russian energy, reliance on American LNG, and what this crisis reveals about Europe’s long-term energy strategy. As the conflict continues, the pressure is growing for Europe to accelerate its transition towards renewables and greater energy resilience. How exposed is Europe to the global energy fallout? What role does Qatar play in the current gas crisis? Could Europe return to Russian energy imports under pressure? And what policies are needed to reduce Europe’s long-term energy dependence? Bookshelf Recommendation Grzegorz Braun Gram vabank by Tomasz Sommer This podcast was recorded on April 1st 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to What the Iran war means for Europe’s energy online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

What the Iran war means for Europe’s energy is an episode from Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes by Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes.

This episode is 31:24 long.

This episode was published on Apr 2, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.