Strong and lasting interdependencies exist between the EU and Russia concerning natural gas exchanges. They imply some questions about energy security from both parties. One could have expected the setting up of more or less institutionalized governance structures – as an institutional system of rules – allowing the management of risks and externalities linked to this interdependence. On both sides, there is a willingness to cooperate. However, to date, the institutional gap between the supply and demand of the cooperation is a constraint to define a governance structure. The question is to know if international standards based on rules generated by the EU are consistent with Russia’s institutional environment. The competitive logic and the regulation on which the EU energy policy is founded conflict with the institutional specificities of the Russian economy.