The Gas Target Model for the Vysehrad 4 Region: Conceptual Analysis

The Gas Target Model is a challenge, notably for the less than large European markets that are fostered to merge in order to boost liquidity. The challenge is even tougher for the Vysehrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), which have long been dependent on Russian supplies and are therefore characterized by less open markets than their Western neighbors. This paper analyses the reality of the V4 countries vis-a-vis the European Gas Target Model, starting from their current and expected infrastructural endowment, and suggests ways to develop and implement it in the most efficient way for them and for the EU as a whole.