Quo Vadis European Energy Policy?

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Quo Vadis European Energy Policy?

A complex balance between geopolitics of pipelines and climate action

MA Thesis in European Studies Graduate School for Humanities

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Author: Teodor L. Kuzov Student number: 11105836

Main Supervisor: dhr. dr. László K. Marácz Second supervisor: dhr. prof. dr. Michael J. Wintle

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Abstract

Energy matter and energy security concerns have been a crucial part of the history of the European Union. However, its energy policy competence is a relatively recent development. This thesis looks at the European Energy Policy, a politically-charged dossier with cross-sectoral importance. It aims to depict the complex structure, functioning, and rationale of the policy by analysing the historical, legal, and institutional drivers for its creation and operation. The main argument is that initially, the European Energy Policy has evolved as a response to a number of momentous events rather than precise planned action. However, following the recent primary and secondary developments, the policy has become a more coherent tool for common action. Security of energy supply and climate change mitigation measures have been put high on the European policy agenda which resulted in adopting an energy strategy and a number of binding renewable energy targets. Thus, this thesis argues that the current European Energy Policy is a complex balancing act between the geopolitics of pipelines and climate action with mixed success.

Key words: European Energy Policy, Energy Union, supply security, geopolitics, renewables,

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List of Tables and Figures

Table 1 – Comparison of the three legislative energy packages ... 42

Table 2 – Main legislative developments in the EU with regards to energy ... 44

Table 3 – Gross inland consumption of energy (1990-2015) in mtoe ... 61

Table 4 – European gas import dependence on Russia (2014) ... 66

Figure 1 – Number of preparatory acts on energy issued by the Commission... 48

Figure 2 – Number of legislative acts on energy issued by the Commission ... 49

Figure 3 – Number of preparatory acts on energy issued by the Council ... 54

Figure 4 – Number of legislative acts on energy issued by the Council ... 54

Figure 5 – EU-28 GIC for all energy products in mtoe (1990-2015) ... 62

Figure 6 – EU-28 energy import dependence (1990-2015) ... 64

Figure 7 – EU-28 GIC per energy source in mtoe (1990-2015) ... 74

Figure 8 – Total GHG emissions by country (2015) ... 77

Figure 9 – Map of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline projects ... 82

Figure 10 – Map of the Caspian Sea region oil and natural gas infrastructure ... 83

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List of Abbreviations

ACER – Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators

AFET Committee – European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs bcm – billion cubic metre

BEMIP – Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan CEER – Council of European Energy Regulators CFSP – Common Foreign and Security Policy

COREPER – Committee of the Permanent Representatives (Comité des représentants permanents) DG – Directorate-General

DG CLIMA – Directorate-General for Climate Action DG COMP – Directorate-General for Competition DG ENER – Directorate-General for Energy

DG ENTR – Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry DG ENV – Directorate-General for Environment

DG MOVE – Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport DG TREN – Directorate-General for Transport and Energy DSO – Distribution System Operator

EC – European Commission

ECSC – European Coal and Steel Community ECT – Energy Charter Treaty

EEA – European Economic Area EEC – European Economic Community

ENTSO-E – European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity ENTSO-G – European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas

ENVI Committee – European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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ERGEG – European Regulators’ Group for Electricity and Gas EU – European Union

EU-ETS – EU Emissions Trading Scheme Euratom – European Atomic Energy Community FDI – Foreign Direct Investment

GATT – General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs GCV – Gross Calorific Value

GHG – Greenhouse Gas

GIC – Gross Inland Consumption IEA – International Energy Agency IEM – Internal Energy Market

IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ISO – Independent System Operator

ITO – Independent Transmission Operator

ITRE Committee – European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas

MEP – Member of the European Parliament MOU – Memorandum of Understanding mtoe – million tonnes of oil equivalent NAP – National Action Plan

NRA – National Regulatory Authority

OECD – Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OEEC – Organisation for European Economic Co-operation

OPEC – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries PCI – Project of Common Interest

SCPX – South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion SEA – Single European Act

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TANAP – Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline TAP – Trans-Adriatic Pipeline

TEU – Treaty on the European Union

TFEU – Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union TJ – Terajoule

TSO – Transmission System Operator

TTE – Transport, Telecommunications, and Energy Council

UCPTE – Union for the Coordination of Production and Transmission of Electricity UN – United Nations

UNFCCC – United Nations Convention on Climate Change WEC – World Energy Council

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‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built

through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.’

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Introduction

Energy is one of the things that people rarely think about in their everyday lives, however, it is all around us since the dawn of civilisation. Our modern societies are highly dependent on energy and the consumption grows worldwide. The energy security concern was one of the main issues in front of the founding fathers of the European project when they first envisaged the European Coal and Steel Community. Thus, the development of the European Union (EU) and the issues of energy security and energy consumption are intertwined. However, the analysis of these intricate problems and developments is a complex endeavour due to the varied definitions and theoretical understandings of what constitutes energy security, what constitutes an effective energy policy, and whether the EU has an energy policy at all.

The definition provided by the World Energy Council (WEC), based on an energy trilemma, appears to be suitable in evaluating energy policy-making, even though the institution uses it for ranking countries and does not include the EU. The WEC index tool is based on the ability of an entity to provide a sustainable supply of energy through delivering policies on three dimensions: energy security; energy equity (accessibility and affordability); and environmental sustainability1_.

The current rhetoric at the European level concerned with energy and energy security runs largely along those lines. The most recent EU energy documents do not refer to energy only as a traded commodity but ‘have taken a position that highlights the role of energy in powering modern economies’2_{. Thus, since nowadays energy is not only a resource but also a multidimensional policy}

field and an influential political tool employed by various states to influence others, it needs to be further researched.

On the other hand, although that energy is such a crucial part of European history and the current agenda, the EU energy policy competence is a relatively recent development. The adoption of common European energy and climate targets, as well as primary and secondary legislative acts, towards a European Energy Policy, indicates that in the EU the Member States (MSs) are no longer the sole owners of their respective energy destiny. Thus, in order to study the development of a European Energy Policy, there is a need to recognise that there is one in the first place. However, as Dieter Helm outlines ‘the obstacles [in front of a coherent European Energy Policy] are formidable, and the legacies of the various component parts which have been built up through the

1_{World Energy Council, 2017.} 2_{Kuzemko and Hadfield, 2016, p28.}

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history of the EU provide major constraints’3_{. Nowadays, the EU bodies deal with various aspects}

of energy, which sometimes creates discrepancies and a need for interinstitutional bargaining for policy and infrastructure projects. Furthermore, there are Member States, in particular in Eastern Europe, which have an increased interest in energy and energy security and especially securitisation of gas supply, due to their dependence on Russian gas. For instance, the Baltics, as well as Bulgaria Czech Republic, and Hungary, are almost exclusively dependent on Russia for their gas supplies and they suffered the most during the most recent gas crises. On the other hand, there are others, most notably the Nordic states, which are more concerned with climate action and higher integration of renewables in the energy mix. These tendencies are further analysed in Chapter Four. The current internal political uncertainties in some EU states are combined with rising energy demand from intermittent renewable sources and dwindling European natural energy resources, as well as increased pressure to phase out fossil fuels and even nuclear power from the energy mix in a number of Member States. Additionally, the increasingly complex geopolitical situation on the Eastern borders of the Union as well as in the Middle East and North Africa – the main energy supplier regions for the EU – further complicates the European attempts to secure its stable energy supply.

The main question, which this thesis is focused on, is: How did the European Energy Policy develop and to what extent effectively deals with the current energy challenges of the EU? Additionally, this thesis will try to engage with the issue to what extent is feasible for the EU to simultaneously achieve the goals of secure, sustainable, and competitive energy supply and whether the Union needs a common coherent energy policy. Some of the aims of this thesis include: presenting the transformation and development of the European Energy Policy and its current state; developing a thorough understanding of the field and its problems; outlining the main concepts and ideas and further developing them; analysing the historical, legal, and institutional aspects and their implications for the current energy situation; looking at the balance of geopolitics and climate action in order to develop and present possible new insights to the theoretical and political discussion of the EU’s energy problems and ambitions.

The words of Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, reverberate through time with his message that concrete steps achieved by the European states have the potential to create solidarity. However, in many aspects, European states are yet to achieve this envisioned solidarity in order to act in unison. Nevertheless, the multiple crises and momentous events have pushed the

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Member States towards common action even in the politically sensitive field of energy. The European institutions have also played a significant role not only to carry out their given mandates but also to highlight the way forward towards a common European Energy Policy by raising certain issues on the political agenda. After a number of legislative changes in both primary and secondary law, currently, energy policy-making is no longer under the sole competence of the Member States but the EU bodies have been given a substantial leeway for policy action. However, ‘as surprising as it might seem, energy may well be the only field in which the EU has shifted from an original fateful common drive to a more unassuming degree of integration’4_{. Due to the complexity and}

sensitivity of the problems in the energy domain, as well as the widely different energy make-ups of the Member States, building the policy around the “single voice” notion would potentially be a challenging endeavour.

Nevertheless, although that many challenges, such as the energy mix of countries and how to fund future energy investment as well as energy security issues still remain5_{, the Member States and the}

EU bodies have the potential to act towards achieving beneficial results when dealing with energy problems both internally and externally. Additionally, ‘the signs for a common energy policy seem to be improving [while] a majority of [the] EU citizens favour tackling energy policies at EU level’6_.

Thus, it could be expected that given the right conditions and political will, the EU Member States have the potential to act in an orchestrated polyphony rather than in an incomprehensible cacophony7_{, which in turn could increase the leverage power vis-à-vis third parties and the energy}

security of the Union. One of the main arguments of this thesis is that the current state of the European Energy Policy leaves unresolved the relationship between foreign policies, climate change policies, and energy policies, which is a precondition for future incoherence and a continuation of the reactionary EU response to foreign and energy issues, resulting in security problems. The hypothesis of the thesis is that the implementation of a coherent European Energy Policy with strengthened external dimension, which deals with the discrepancies between the energy needs, climate goals, and economic and political will of the Member States, aids some of their security challenges.

In order to study the policy, and to attempt to shed light on the multiple aspects of the outlined problems this thesis critically examines the theoretical underpinnings, historical evolution, legal

4_{Leal-Arcas and Alemany Ríos, 2015, p27.} 5_{Langsdorf, 2011, p2.}

6_Ibid.

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developments, and institutional drivers behind the European Energy Policy and its goals in four chapters. The first one presents some of the definitions and concepts in the theoretical debate. Furthermore, it outlines the analytical framework and methods deployed in the analysis. The second chapter analyses the historical events that influenced the development of the energy policy and its rising importance for the EU situated in a framework of four outlined historical periods. The third chapter delves into the developments of primary and secondary legislative acts, which are the foundation of the current European Energy Policy. This is followed by the analysis of the institutional framework of the EU with regards to energy policy-making and influencing the agenda. The main institutions, their responsibilities, and agenda-shaping powers are discussed in a comparative way. The fourth chapter discusses the quantitative data on the EU’s energy consumption, energy import dependence, and share of renewables in the European energy mix. Additionally, this last chapter uses the natural gas geopolitics of pipelines, exemplified by the Southern Gas Corridor development, and the EU’s quest to increase the use of renewable energy sources, as well as to decrease greenhouse gas emissions through the EU-ETS, as qualitative examples of the way the European Energy Policy is conveyed with regards to the set energy and climate goals of the Union. Finally, this thesis draws some conclusions for the energy policy, summarises the main findings, and highlights the complex balancing act between geopolitics and climate action, which the European institutions and the Member States are faced with.

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Chapter 1. Theoretical perspectives and methodology

1.1. Towards a common theoretical approach

Energy is a complex issue, which has been theorised by a variety of scholars coming from different fields of expertise. Although that the different backgrounds have enriched the debates, the multiplicity of approaches has also created certain discrepancies in the explanation of the definienda – energy, energy security, and energy policy. Many of the scholars and international actors see energy matter as a domain dominated by nation-states and their interests. For instance, Jan Kalicki and David Goldwyn define energy security as ‘the assurance of the ability to access the energy resources required for the continued development of national power […] and adequate infrastructure to deliver these supplies to the market’8_{. This explanation is further expanded by the}

understanding of the World Economic Forum’s 2009 Report on Global Risks, where the understanding of the energy nexus is based on four objectives:

 Autonomy, energy supply that is within the control of a country and free from disruption by external agents;

 Reliability, or distribution that is safe and meets demand without interruption;  Affordability, or prices commensurable with the buying power of consumers; and

 Sustainability, or sufficient supply of energy to support a high quality of life without damaging the environment.9

However, these approaches although concrete and useful are looking at energy from the perspective of a state controlled domain with a strong national interest vested in it, which explains the early years of the European project. On the other hand, it falls short of depicting the current multi-dimensional developments of a European Energy Policy influenced by a multiplicity of actors both national and supranational.

According to Andrea Prontera, energy policy-making is a ‘product of the interaction of material and technological factors with political ones’10_{. Furthermore, the scholar points out that ‘energy}

policy in a given period is not only the fruit of the conditions of socio-economic development, but is also determined by the modalities of interaction among the actors involved in energy

8_{Kalicki and Goldwyn, 2005, p9.} 9_{World Economic Forum, 2009.} 10_{Prontera, 2009, p1.}

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making’11_{, as well as by the distribution of resources, decisions of policy-makers, and inherited}

power configurations.

Although that the first common institutions of the European Communities were built around energy resources and the ideas for a community-based approach date back to the 1950s, the European Energy Policy is a relatively new development in the European Union’s history. In order to speak about the development and future direction of a European Energy Policy, it is a prerequisite to suppose that there is one in the first place. This notion of the existence would be further analysed from a legal point of view in Chapter Three. However, the theoretical overview presented in this chapter suggests that even though not a full-fledged, focused, and functional, as it could be, it is still an important European set of policy tools nonetheless.

The energy policy understanding of the EU is a reflection of its changing functions, competences, abilities, and theoretical stance on the issues involved. Since energy is regarded as a strategic good, Member States have generally been reluctant to delegate powers in this domain to supranational bodies12_{. The understanding of the energy equilibrium provided by the Dutch scholar Jaap C.}

Jansen could better grasp the energy nexus of the EU since it looks at energy as ‘the extent to which the population in a defined area can have access to affordably and competitively priced, environmentally acceptable energy services of adequate quality’13_{. Additionally, a more holistic}

definition is given by Doug Stokes and Sam Raphael – ‘energy security exists when there are energy sources large enough to meet the needs of the political community, which include all military, economic and societal activity [and the ability] to deliver such quantities of energy in a reliable and stable manner for the foreseeable future’14_.

The high level of energy dependence of the EU and a number of oil and gas crises, as well as economic and political challenges faced by the Union, have pushed the European institutions to produce a number of common papers on how to mitigate such crises. To an extent, these papers have altered the understanding of energy and the energy equilibrium in the Union. In its 2000 Green Paper, the European Commission (EC) stipulates that securing a stable energy supply means ‘ensuring the well-being of the citizens and the proper functioning of the economy, the uninterrupted physical availability of energy products on the market, at a price which is affordable

11_{Prontera, 2009, p2.} 12_{Furfari, 2011, p65.} 13_{Jansen, 2009, p7.}

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for all consumers, while respecting environmental concerns’15_{. It could be argued that this}

understanding is underpinning the current developments in the domain of European energy policy-making.

The theoretical field dealing with European energy affairs has been growing throughout history but after the major changes introduced with the Lisbon Treaty, the number of energy crises in the 21st_{century, and the increased pace of processes such as globalisation, interdependence, and climate}

change the academic interest in energy matter has flourished. In order to theoretically frame the developments and to attempt to outline a holistic theoretical view on the general shift of competences and functions of the Union in the energy sector, this part critically discusses some ideas and builds on others. Yet, the aim of this part is not to give an exhaustive list of the plethora of scholars who have contributed to the better understanding of energy policy, but rather to give a summarised account of some of the main arguments in an unbiased manner. Thus, to contrast the theoretical understandings this thesis would use normative ideal theoretical stances, even though that the author recognises that there is a multiplicity of views supported by the various authors in each approach.

One of the approaches taken by scholars is to analyse the developments in EU policy from the perspective that the (most powerful) Member States are the main drivers. This intergovernmentalist approach can be divided into two subfields – Classical Intergovernmentalism16_{and Liberal}

Intergovernmentalism17_{. The former approach could explain the early years of the European}

Energy Policy – characterised with strong national interests which acted as a break towards the communitarisation of this domain18_{. The energy sector in many of the Member States historically}

has been dominated by strong companies – national champions, for instance, Électricité de France (EDF) and Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE) in France and Germany respectively. However, given the enlargement of the EU and the development of the energy policy towards more European measures for market liberalisation and combating climate change, this approach fails to grasp the current complexity of the European Energy Policy.

On the other hand, Liberal Intergovernmentalism builds on this perspective by analysing also the domestic negotiation processes, which take place before the debate on a wider European level and influence the positions of governmental actors. As Andrew Moravcsik argues, the actions of the

15_{European Commission, 2000.} 16_{Hoffmann, 1966; Howorth, 2010.} 17_{Moravcsik, 1993; Matláry, 1997.}

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Member States are dictated by a balance of economic and geopolitical interests and the European institutions serve as a facilitator that enables them to maximise their benefits19_{. However, as Janne}

Matláry explains the Liberal Intergovernmentalist approach accounts well for the developments of the so-called “grand bargains”, such as the Single European Act and the Treaties20_{but it fails to}

accommodate the ways in which the secondary legislation and policy documents, drafted by the European institutions, have set the tone and have exerted an influence on the energy policies and interests of the Member States21_{. Thus, the intergovernmentalist approaches, by focusing primarily}

on the Member States and their influence, fall short in explaining the development of the EC’s legislative energy packages, which have largely impacted the way in which the current European energy sector works.

The three main European institutions – the EC, the EP, and the Council – at certain points have not only contributed and acted as instruments but to a certain extent dictated the rhythm of the policy development and became in a way agenda setters22_{. Thus, their role cannot be side-lined or}

under-investigated since policies are shaped at both European and national level. As some scholars, connected with an approach known as Institutionalism23_{, suggest the Commission and the Member}

States both influence the development of the energy policy24_{. Some institutionalist scholars argue}

that through the creation of European rules and norms, as well as structuring the decision-making process, EU bodies could influence the preferences of Member States towards a common development, given that progress depends on interest-specific patterns25_{. As suggested by Daniel}

Thomas, ‘frequent and intensive consultation between Member States has weakened egoistic identities and accustomed national policy-makers to seeking out the views of their EU counterparts before determining a national position on a particular issue’26_{. However, some of the Institutionalist}

researchers focus predominantly on the EC’s role and the way in which it exercises its powers to influence the policy-making and decision-taking processes, which could lead to certain distortions when studying the day-to-day policy-making processes in Europe involving a plethora of stakeholders and influencers.

19_{Moravcsik, 1993; Bickerton, Hodson, and Puetter, 2014.} 20_{Moravcsik, 1991, p19.}

21_{Matláry, 1997.}

22_{Maltby, 2013; Biesenbender, 2015.} 23_{March and Olsen, 1989.}

24_{Hill and Smith, 2011; Schmidt, 2010.}

25_{Schmidt, 2008; Tsebelis, 2002; Wallace, Pollack, and Young, 2015;} 26_{Thomas, 2011, p12.}

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Additionally, there are a number of constructivist scholars27_{who study to what extent the ‘deeper}

identities and interests of EU bodies, states and non-state actors are shaped and changed through social interaction and communication, and how this impacts discourses and decision-making’28

both internally for the Union and externally for its neighbourhood. This approach although promising mainly investigates the so-called “high politics”, which is useful when investigating the EU’s “actorness” as a climate change leader or the geopolitics of gas pipelines29_{. However, this}

approach does not give enough insights on the smaller pieces of legislation, as well as the development of environmental and market unbundling legislative acts, which largely carried out the heavy load of European energy policy-making in the 1990s, due to limited Treaty provisions on energy.

As Susanne Schmidt argues, a leaning towards one or the other dominant concept in the general theoretical discourse could lead to certain distortions and ‘blinds one to the multiple effects between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism’30_{. The German scholar suggests that the EU}

as a complex policy-making actor represents a “system of multi-level governance”. Researchers such as Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks, who have coined the term “multi-level governance”31_,

propose that studying policy development through the perspective of how the ‘EU bodies, states and other actors operate across regional, national and local governance levels, [as well as] how authority is shifted across forums and scales’32_{, could provide an enhanced understanding and}

better insights of the way in which decisions and policies are made33_{. The energy sector includes a}

plethora of such organisations like lobby groups, manufacturers, transmission operators, generation and utility companies that can have a decisive impact on major policy and legislative developments. Therefore, it could be argued that to an extent, this concept better grasps the policy relationship between the various stakeholders in the European energy sector, since it provides a framework for analysing the influence of a variety of important actors beyond Member States and EU bodies.

An approach focused on the governance side of the theoretical debate, emphasises ‘the way EU policy processes transcend governance scales or “levels” [and] underlines the role for individual

27_{Bretherton and Vogler, 2013; Checkel, 2007; Christiansen, Jorgensen, and Wiener, 1999;} 28_{Selin and VanDeveer, 2015, p312.}

29_{Bretherton and Vogler, 2008; Vogler, 2009; Wurzel and Connelly, 2011.} 30_{Schmidt, 1996, p6.}

31_{Hooghe and Marks, 2001.} 32_{Selin and VanDeveer, 2015, p312.} 33_{Bache and Flinders, 2004.}

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and interest group entrepreneurship’34_{. Scholars dealing with governance networks and policy}

entrepreneurship highlight the complexity of the EU policy-making apparatus. As part of this scholarly work is the influential study of Jale Tosun, Sophie Biesenbender, and Kai Schulze, who study the agenda-shaping powers of the EU bodies with a particular focus on the European Energy Policy35_{. Even though that scholars applying analytical tools from organisational theories and}

governance studies acknowledge the importance of the Member States in the European Energy Policy framework, their approach puts the Commission and the Council at the forefront of the energy policy development. However, since ‘agenda setting is not only confined to the friction between national governments and supranational institutions [and] energy issues are heavily affected by developments at the international level such as climate summits or armed conflicts within and between states’36_{, this thesis recognises that the development of the agenda does not}

occur only endogenously but is also highly influenced by exogenous factors.

This thesis acknowledges that Member States have different policy preferences and as Daniel Thomas points out, it is possible to assume that the EU achieves common policies only when the preferences of Member States are similar and fails to reach an agreement when their preferences differ37_{. However, the members of the Union act in an institutionalised setting which in a way helps}

for negotiating a common position but also restricts them in their choice38_{. Thus, this thesis argues}

that Member States still have a significant impact on the energy policy developments, however, the institutionalised environment with its norms and practices, exerts a considerable effect on the behaviour and policy choices of the Member States and the plethora of stakeholders involved in the energy policy process39_.

To conclude, there are scholars who have focused on different aspects of energy policy such as economic, security, or environmental concerns. Thus, the theoretical debate concerned with the wide spectrum of energy policy-making includes concepts from wide analytical fields like security studies, international relations, geopolitics, political science, and governance analysis. However, as outlined above, none of the major theories can answer all the questions regarding the existence, development, influences, and prospects of the European Energy Policy on its own. This thesis 34_{Szulecki, et al., 2016, p4.} 35_{Tosun et al., 2015.} 36_{Szulecki, et al., 2016, p4.} 37_{Thomas, 2009, p341.} 38_{Idem, p344.} 39_{Idem, p343.}

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attempts to contribute to the discussion by bridging the gap between intergovernmental and supranational theories as well as by further developing some of the concepts of governance and policy entrepreneurship.

1.2. Developing a methodological framework of analysis

This thesis is engaged with the questions of how did the European Energy Policy develop and to what extent effectively deals with the current energy challenges of the EU? The thesis also looks at the feasibility for the EU to simultaneously achieve the goals of secure, sustainable, and competitive energy supply through a policy aimed at achieving a comprehensive common energy security. Thus, the main aspect of this thesis is an ontological inquiry into the European Energy Policy, i.e. it aims to enhance the understanding of what is it, how it came to be, and what influenced its development. The approach applied in studying the development of the European Energy Policy framework represents a deductive interpretative study. This thesis is predominantly qualitatively analytical in nature, however, certain quantitative tools are utilised in order to present a more comprehensive account of the developments and influence on the policy-making processes. Therefore, this thesis utilises methods such as historical analysis, phenomenological and legal assessment, governance approaches to policy-making and agenda-shaping, and qualitative case studies supported by quantitative analysis. This methodological approach is believed to increase the reliability and validity of some of the findings of the Master thesis and thus enhancing the holistic understanding of the development and functioning of the European Energy Policy.

Energy has been part of the story of the European project since its creation. However, a more specific theoretical and analytical focus on the European Energy Policy toolbox is a relatively recent development. In order to illustrate this and to distinguish between the different historical periods of the development of the policy, this thesis adopts a historical framework based on four interconnected periods.

The first period, roughly from 1950 to 1970, is characterised with the beginning of the European project, however, without a specific focus on developing an energy policy. In this period there were a number of developments and integration attempts without a focus on common energy policy goals but mainly with the aim of reconstructing the war-torn continent and securing the basics, including energy supply. During the second phase from 1970 until 1990, the energy sector experienced a number of shocks from the oil crises of the 1970s to the Chernobyl disaster in the

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late 1980s. These events had a major impact on the European players and markets which resulted in efforts towards integration through market measures culminating with the Single European Act. This is followed by the third period – from 1990 to mid-2000s – in which a number of important European treaties were signed and the focus shifted towards market liberalisation and environmental protection. During this period energy quickly became one of the important topics on the agenda and the first two legislative packages for energy market liberalisation were adopted. Finally, the last identified period is from the mid-2000s to the current days. In this phase, energy not only became a widely discussed issue but also became further politicised by facing a number of challenges such as the geopolitical and climate change balancing struggle in achieving a stable sustainable security of supply equilibrium. This constitutes the general historical framework which the story of the European Energy Policy, presented in this thesis, follows.

This thesis aims to show that all the issues, such as gas crises, renewable energy deployment, and debates over legal energy policy developments, which the various stakeholders dealt with during the outlined periods are intertwined and interdependent. In Chapter Three, this thesis focuses on the main primary and secondary legislative developments of the third and fourth historical periods, since they are the ones that make up the legal DNA of the current European Energy Policy. Additionally, the inquiry into the legal texts aims to answer some of the questions around the existence and capabilities of the energy policy framework. This is followed by an institutional analysis which aims to develop a thorough understanding of the main EU institutional responsibilities in the energy domain as well as to highlight their energy agenda-shaping powers. This thesis supports some of the arguments by adopting the analysis framework on energy agenda-shaping developed by the German scholar Sophie Biesenbender40_{, which looks at the output of}

official legislative and preparatory documents dealing with the various dimensions of energy policy41_{. The documents issuance analysis, utilised by Biesenbender, is focused on the Commission}

and the Council since they are the two bodies which have historically been involved in energy policy-making. However, in order to validate the study and to expand it, this thesis looks at the recent EUR-Lex data42_{on the preparatory and legislative output of the two institutions, as well as}

40_{Biesenbender, 2015, p25.}

41_{The dimensions used for the visual representation of the output are made according to the EUR-Lex arrangement}

by dimensions to energy policy domain: general principles, electricity, coal, oil and gas, nuclear energy, and renewable energy.

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the EP. This approach is believed to help trace the main priority items for the bodies and to facilitate the presentation of their agenda shaping powers over time.

Additionally, analysis of Eurostat’s statistical data sets on energy consumption, natural gas dependence, renewable energy share, and greenhouse gas emissions, is presented in Chapter Four, in order to support the main arguments. Since some authors consider the main goals of the current European Energy Policy to simultaneously provide secure, sustainable, and competitive energy supply to be to a certain extent conflictual43_{, this thesis suggests that the indicators for energy}

security evaluation proposed by Kruyt et al.44_{are a suitable starting point for analysis of energy}

projects and future developments. The four indicators suggested by the scholars are:  Availability – elements relating to geological existence;

 Accessibility – geopolitical elements;  Affordability – economical elements;

 Acceptability – environmental and societal elements.

The assessment tools, proposed by the team of Dutch scholars, encapsulate the complexity of different elements which need to be taken into account for evaluating energy projects and policy developments. However, since sometimes certain energy projects or policy developments are dictated or inhibited by internal political, institutional or legal challenges, shifts, and ambitions, this thesis suggests the addition of a fifth indicator:

 Admissibility – dealing with internal legal and political elements.

This slight alteration to include the internal aspect of the European legal and political elements, which might influence sensitive energy developments for the various national and European stakeholders, as a separate indicator, is believed to enhance the understanding of the complexity of such developments, such as energy pipeline projects. These assessment criteria are utilised in Chapter Four when looking at the case of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) projects, which is believed to enhance the understanding of the importance of the SGC by looking at the various elements.

The last chapter of this thesis uses two of the EU’s endeavours as qualitative case studies, which at least rhetorically are praised by the EU bodies as being able to aid the energy woes and help towards meeting the set goals – the SGC and the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). Thus,

43_{Focken, 2016; Hodžić, 2015; Schott, 2016.}

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the quantitative data and the tool of five criteria have the potential to further expand the understanding of the case studies.

Therefore, this paper applies a multi-faceted approach in its inquiry by analysing primary and secondary legislation, looking at the distribution of competences, the legislative output of the main EU bodies, and focusing on the two of the main domains of the policy – natural gas and renewable energy. All of which is interwoven and supported by the historical framework of the four periods outlined above.

The chosen thesis framework for analysis is believed to present a clear account of the historical context and drivers behind the development of a European Energy Policy. Second, the selection of the third and fourth periods for further analysis is believed to deliver additional insight by allowing for the analysis of the pre-Lisbon and post-Lisbon policy and legal developments. Third, the institutional inquiry is expected to enhance not only the understanding of the responsibilities of the different bodies but also their agenda-shaping powers. Finally, as the legal and institutional analyses outline, the developments on gas and electricity markets are some of the main legislative acts as part of the European Energy Policy. These developments are considered as part of the main focus areas for achieving security of supply through gas supply diversification, reducing the carbon footprint of the EU, and increasing the renewable energy share of the European energy mix. They also are considered to represent the conflicting nature of some of the set energy and climate goals by the EU. Thus, by looking more closely at these issues in the last chapter, this paper aims to gain insights into the possible future complex balancing of security of supply geopolitics and climate mitigation actions.

The chapters of this thesis aim to represent an unbiased account of the development, structure, and future prospects in front of the European Energy Policy in a mutually supportive manner. However, the aim of this thesis is not to give a full account of all the events, theories or actors that influence the development of the European Energy Policy. Given the time limitations of the study and the fact that the author utilised primarily sources published in English, it is worth noting that full account of the views and tendencies in all the Member States, as well as the European institutions and other stakeholders in the energy sector, is hard to be created. This paper uses ideal generalised accounts of the positions of the main institutional actors, however, there are internal differences in each body and this paper does not argue that their position on energy affairs is completely uniform and homogenous in nature. Thus, this is a domain in which further enquiries are needed in order to enhance the understanding of the European Energy Policy, its development, drivers, future prospects, the various positions of the stakeholders and their causality.

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Chapter 2. Historical analysis

2.1. First period (1950 – 1970): humble beginnings

The process of European integration started with two treaties that aimed to unify and integrate the economies of the signatory states and their resources, namely – the 1951 Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the 1957 Treaties, signed in Rome, establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1953, the signatories of the ECSC Treaty, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, opened a common market for coal, iron, metal, and steel. Additionally, the signatories also ‘agreed to abolish all tariff and non-tariff borders in the trade of coal and steel and transfer all authority concerning investment subsidies, price and market to a new committee consisting of nine members, called a High Authority’45_{, which would become the}

governing body of the ECSC. The High Authority, which could be considered as the early predecessor of the modern day European Commission, was headed by one of the so-called ‘founding fathers of the European Union’ – Jean Monnet. The French diplomat supported the idea that the successful integration of one area with time would have a spill over effect into others, which eventually would lead to a high level of integration and interdependency – a notion that is conceptualised in theories such as functionalist integrationism and to an extent institutionalism. The first so-called founding treaties of the European Communities were focused on the backbone of the then energy industry in Europe – coal – and the projected future dominant fuel in the energy mix – nuclear power. This resulted in common bodies for the then six Member States with supranational tools, in the fields of coal, steel, and nuclear energy, which aimed to enhance the cooperation in handling these resources. However, the decision-making stayed with the Member States. Thus, due to the nature and importance of the energy resources, ‘the focus of policy remained on security of supply’46_.

Furthermore, during the post-war reconstruction of the war-torn continent, stimulated by the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), the national electricity grids in Europe started to become more and more interconnected. Additionally, in 1951 Austria, Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland have established the Union for the Coordination of Production and Transmission of Electricity

45_{Schubert et al., 2016, p94.} 46_{Dutton, 2015, p1.}

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(UCPTE), which would later become ENTSO-E47_{. From its creation, the UCPTE has stimulated}

and contributed to the interconnection of the electricity networks not only of the Western European founding members but also for the electricity markets in Southern and Eastern Europe. During the 1950s, coal constituted almost 90% of the primary energy source of the six countries that signed the ECSC48_{. However, even with a common institution, the coal-mining industry of}

the six was struggling due to cheaper imports and a rising supply of imported oil, which was becoming abundant on the international energy markets at the time. By the late 1960s the relevance of the ECSC as well as its raison d’être, to guarantee the stable and cheap coal access to its signatories, have slowly faded since coal constituted less than 40% of the energy mix and oil has replaced it as the main energy source of the six countries.

The majority of the imported oil originated from the Middle East. Thus, instabilities in the region caused also disruptions in the supply, which in turn created economic uncertainties for the European states. For the first period, the two major crises in the Middle East that created political and economic instability, which in turn caused energy supply disruptions in Europe, were the 1956 Suez crisis and the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt. These crises resulted in the Council Directive of 20 December 1968 Imposing and Obligation on Member States of the EEC to

Maintain Minimum Stocks of Crude Oil and/or Petroleum Products49_{. The document, which became}

known as the ‘stockpiling directive’ set one of the first measures towards energy solidarity during a crisis. However, even though these two events exposed the dependence of the European states on the producer regions and their vulnerability to external crises, there were no specific actions towards a European approach on energy. Instead, ‘the 1960s were characterised by a focus on the nation state level’50_.

Additionally, because of the distinct characteristics of energy production and distribution it ‘is difficult to compare to any other tradable commodity and, thus requires specific rules and special regulations, which in turn were easier to create at a domestic as opposed to supranational level’51_.

Integration on the supranational level was further complicated by the technological and scientific

47_{In 2009, after the expansion and inclusion of new members and electricity markets throughout the decades of}

European integration, the body became the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E).

48_{Schubert et al., 2016, p95.}

49_{Council of the European Communities, 1968, Directive 68/414/EEC.} 50_{Langsdorf, 2011, p5.}

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advancements to which the different states and their developments in the energy sector are subject to52_{. Linked ‘with the development of national energy policies was the emergence of national}

champions’53_{, which were strong national companies, like Électricité de France (EDF) and}

Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE)54_{, in France and Germany respectively. Thus, during the}

post-war period, due to vested interest and national policy developments, the energy market in many European states became highly centralised and monopolised with very low or almost non-existent levels of competition.

2.2. Second period (1970 – 1990): turbulent times and market integration

During the second outlined period, the European project grew in members and in 1973 Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom joined the six founding countries. In the beginning of the 1970s, the energy mix of the 9 members of the European Communities was based mainly on oil, which accounted for more than 60%, while coal was reduced to around 24%55_.

In 1973, erupted the Yom-Kippur War between Israel and a number of Arab countries led by Egypt and Syria. This conflict in the Middle East just 6 years after the Six-Day War caused yet another disruption to the energy supplies of the European states. Even though that Arab states ‘members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have deliberately reduced their outflow of oil in order to influence the settlement of their dispute with Israel’ in a number of occasions since the Second World War, the 1973-74 reduction became the longest and most severe. By reducing the oil outflow more than twofold, causing disruptions of energy supplies for a number of states dependent on the Arab oil56_{. While the Netherlands was specifically}

embargoed from the OPEC countries, the rest of the Western European states (with the exception of France and Britain due to their preferential treatment for the OPEC oil shipments) were struggling because of the high prices on the oil imports set by OPEC and by fears that the quantity of the produced oil in the region would not be sufficient to cover the needs of the European domestic economies. 52_{Schubert et al., 2016, p98.} 53_{Helm, 2012, p559.} 54_Ibid. 55_{Tonini, 2016, p16.} 56_Ibid.

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The 9 EEC Member States attempted to deal with the crisis by introducing internal national policies, which were not coordinated or synchronised with the rest of the members57_{. The crisis}

discussions at the EEC Council were fruitless ‘and some members of the Community adopted a

sauve qui peut approach, in the hope of negotiating bilateral deals with particular oil-producing

countries’58_{. However, in 1974, as a result of this crisis, a number of European states joined by}

others established ‘the International Energy Agency [IEA] with a global stocking policy and a global remit, with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) alongside’59_{. Due to the more international approach and the inclusion of important players such}

as the United States and Canada, some EEC Member States have entrusted the IEA more compared to the European community measures.

Nevertheless, this was followed by an approved resolution on ‘new energy strategy’ by the EEC Council of Ministers in the end of 197460_{. The ministers ‘once again emphasised the necessity for}

a common energy policy and agreed that precise figures were necessary, as a precursor, in order to achieve it’61_{. This goal was planned to be reached by increasing the amount of solid fuel in the}

energy mix, developing nuclear power, diversifying supplies, reducing consumption and protecting the environment, which were set as energy policy objectives for 198562_{. In order to achieve the}

ambitious targets of reducing the energy dependence of the Member States from 63% (in 1973) to 50% as well as reducing the imported oil from 61% (in 1973) to 38% by 1985, the Council passed a number of legal documents which were envisaged to facilitate this transition.

The second major crisis during the second historical period of development was the 1979 oil price hike, ‘triggered by the Iranian revolution, exacerbated by the onset of the Iran-Iraq war in September 1980’63_{and further intensified by the price increases of a number of OPEC countries,}

most notably Saudi Arabia. Similar to the 1973 crisis the reaction of the EEC Member States was uncoordinated and ‘was limited to the adoption of a general strategy concerning the efficient use of energy and supply security’64_.

57_{Tonini, 2016, p20.}

58_Ibid. 59_{Helm, 2012.}

60_{Council of the European Communities, 1974a.} 61_{Schubert et al., 2016, p101.}

62_{Council of the European Communities, 1974b.} 63_{Schubert et al., 2016, p102.}

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The years that followed were marked by the drafting of a number of reports and proposals by the Commission65_{, which the Council received but did not put high on its agenda. Thus, the two major}

realisations from the 1970s oil crises that as an energy dependent region Europe is vulnerable to the political instabilities in its supplier regions and to possible ‘politically motivated [fossil fuel] supply disruptions’66_{from the exporting states did not change the modus operandi of the Member}

States and the EEC institutions.

In terms of energy cooperation, the early 1980s were characterised by broad policy goals made by the European Council, followed by the Commission’s recommendations and subsequent rejection by the Council due to disagreements between the states.

On 26 April 1986, in the Soviet Union67_{, a reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded}

and released a radioactive cloud that spread across Europe. The vast environmental and health consequences of the disaster are still being studied to this day, however, in the 1980s it ‘changed Europe’s energy focus [by] rais[ing] deep concerns about the use of nuclear power in general and shattered the popular optimism [associated with the European nuclear power development] of the early 1970s’68_{. Additionally, in the 1980s the EEC members grew from 9 to 12 when Greece joined}

in 1981 followed by Spain and Portugal five years later.

On the other hand, the attempts of the EEC countries to move towards the creation of a single market culminated with the Single European Act of 1986. Nevertheless, the Act did not include energy integration due to the complexity of the field and the specific interests of the states involved. The SEA is considered ‘a giant leap towards the completion of the internal market’69_,

however, the key development that it introduced with implications for the energy sector ‘was the inclusion of environmental law into primary law, which allowed the Community to pass relevant energy laws by relying on environmental law’70_{. Furthermore, in the late 1980s, during the meetings}

of the Council of Ministers71_{were discussed different ways for integration of the energy markets}

in Europe and the inclusion of energy into the framework of the European single market72_{. As a}

65_{European Commission, 1980a; European Commission, 1980b; European Commission, 1981.}

66_{Tekin and Williams, 2011, p20.}

67_{On the territory of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.} 68_{Schubert et al., 2016, p103.}

69_{Idem, p104.} 70_{Idem, p105.}

71_{In 1993 it became the Council of the European Union.} 72_{Eikeland, 2004, p4.}

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result of these discussions, the Commission has drafted a working paper in which were emphasised a number of prerequisites for the creation of a functioning internal energy market – harmonisation of laws, norms, and technical frameworks; inclusion of electricity and gas into the market liberalisation policies and removal of the various fiscal barriers set by each Member State; establishing and implementing Community Law for energy matter by the Commission; and environmental protection measures73_{. Although, the proposal formulated on the basis of this paper}

consequently faced opposition in the Council, it outlined the overarching development goals towards a market oriented approach for integrating the European energy markets, in contrast to the state controlled energy champions and “natural monopolies” of the previous periods.

However, all these measures, taken in the first periods, were not made with the intent of establishing a common European Energy Policy. This is due mainly to the fact that energy was predominantly seen (and still is by some) as a national competence and a strategic good – a prerogative for strong national security74_.

2.3. Third period (1990 – mid-2000s): Green Papers in a new geopolitical

energy landscape

During the third outlined historical period, a number of momentous events, in the beginning of the 1990s, created new opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector but also new challenges in the domain of energy supply and security came to the fore. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the discussions on energy matter in the European Parliament and the Council were challenging and protracted. However, the Commission yet again took the initiative to set the energy agenda and ‘tried to overcome the respective national opposition by formulating a variety of legislative proposals with enough integrated leeway’75_{to accommodate the conflicting interests of the}

different Member States. Meanwhile, the political, economic, and ideological order of Europe experienced one of its biggest shocks with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Germany was reunified while the removal of the Iron Curtain created economic uncertainty for the countries of the Eastern bloc. Furthermore, in the Middle East – one of the main energy exporter regions for Europe – Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, which started the First

73_{European Commission, 1988, p13.} 74_{Prontera, 2009.}

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Gulf War76_{. Additionally, in this historical period, the European Community underwent through}

its biggest transformation so far by formally establishing the European Union and increasing the Member States from 12 to 15 and then 25 through the two enlargements of 1995 and 2004. The Union, which in this period encompassed most of the continent, with each enlargement to the east encountered new and various energy security problems.

These events changed the energy and geopolitical landscape and as a result, the 1990s and early 2000s were marked by the extensive drafting of Green Papers by the Commission, three adopted European Treaties, and two energy legislative packages. In 1992, in the Dutch town of Maastricht was signed the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). Although that it reflected on some of the turbulent events of the time and established the EU it did not include energy policy measures. On the other hand, the Maastricht Treaty ‘was the first to explicitly mention energy in primary law’77_.

A similar lack of specific energy chapters in primary legislation was followed with the other two major Treaties – the Amsterdam and Nice Treaties signed in 1997 and 2001 respectively.

Russia and the countries of the Eastern bloc, some of which have applied for memberships in the international institutions, were experiencing increasing political and economic instability. This environment in the immediate neighbourhood of the EU, which had still untapped energy reserves, was considered as an opportunity by the Western European countries and private energy companies that had ‘the financial and technological capacity to make investments as well as the intention to diversify their energy sources by trading with new suppliers’78_{. With the ambitions to}

boost the economic growth in its neighbourhood, safeguard the established energy relations, and to secure the energy supply of the European Community the Commission, on the request of the European Council, drafted the European Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). The main aim of the Charter was to promote ‘international norms in the energy sector [by] employ[ing] a strategy of rule export in order to secure’79_{the interests of the European Community abroad. The ECT was}

signed by 31 states and stipulated that energy should be produced, traded, and transported in a non-discriminatory fashion according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules as well as that energy routes should be guaranteed even in the event of a conflict. It entered into force in 1998 and although that Russia, Norway, and Belarus, have signed it they never ratified the Charter. Therefore, although that the ECT failed to bring on board the biggest external energy suppliers of

76_{This conflict is also known as the First Iraq War.} 77_{Schubert et al., 2016, p108.}

78_{Tekin and Williams, 2011, p21.} 79_{Schubert et al., 2016, p109.}

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the European Community, it succeeded ‘in setting the agenda and the rules for much of the former Soviet Union’80_{states and can be considered a successful projection of soft power by exporting}

rules and norms.

The EC drafted a number of Green Papers for the period between 1990 and 2000. First, in 1995 was published the ‘Green Paper: For a European Union Energy Policy’81_{, with which ‘the EU began to}

embrace sustainability, security of supply and the need to establish an internal market’82_.

Furthermore, in the Green Paper, the EC acknowledged the rising import dependence of the EU countries and recognised it as one of the main problems for the energy sector that can be moderated and soothed through further progress towards integration, harmonisation of the national and community level energy policies, and creation of a common position on the overarching trans-border energy challenges, by increasing the role of the Union.

A year later the Commission issued another document – Green Paper for a Community Strategy – called ‘Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy’83_{. Other than reiterating once again the need}

for a strengthened cooperation in the energy sector between the Member States, the Paper proposed a number of concrete measures. In particular, it focused on the enhanced introduction of renewable energy sources to the EU’s energy mix, which is considered helpful for achieving the Union’s energy security and climate change targets. The cost of renewable energy in the 1990s was higher than imported sources of energy like hydrocarbons. Thus, the Green Paper emphasised the need for increasing the research and development activities in the EU to find out how can renewables aid some of the energy woes of the Union.

During the third historical period, environmental and climate change issues became more and more accepted as a pressing problem on which the international community should act together. As a result, the EU energy and ‘climate governance has been closely inter-related with international climate organisations and agreements’84_{. Moreover, the EU has established its image as a key driver}

behind the negotiating international agreements on climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions85_{. In the 1990s, there were a number of important developments which the EU}

80_{Schubert et al., 2016, p110.} 81_{European Commission, 1995.} 82_{Tekin and Williams, 2011, p22.} 83_{European Commission, 1996.} 84_{Kuzemko and Hadfield, 2016, p25.} 85_{European Commission, 2013a.}

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became part of. Most notably the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was signed in 1992 and entered into force two years later86_.

The UNFCCC aims to stabilise ‘greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system’87_{. However,}

although that the UNFCCC specifies how international treaties to be negotiated it does not include any enforcement mechanisms. The growing momentum at the international stage for curbing the effects of climate change resulted in an international treaty signed in Kyoto under the UNFCCC. The infamous Kyoto Protocol, signed by the EU in 1998, aimed at reducing GHG emissions by setting ‘legally binding emissions reduction targets of 5.2% over 1990 levels by 2008 to 2012’88_for

developed countries who signed the agreement. The EU has pledged to ‘reduce its CO2 emissions

by 8% by 2012, compared to 1990’89_{levels. In fact, this commitment is in line with what the}

Commission proposed in its 1996 Green Paper90_{. There the EC proposed a ‘12% for the}

contribution by renewable sources of energy to the [EU]’s gross inland energy consumption by 2010’91_{. Although that usually states are part of international climate agreements and protocols the}

EU is ascribed a special status. Thus, since it is considered a single signatory to the UNFCCC and the IEA akin to a nation state, the Union was able to sign the Kyoto Protocol and other climate agreements as one signatory.

Meanwhile, due to geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East and increased demand for hydrocarbons, since 1999 the price of crude oil has been increasing and tripled for one year. In 2000, the Commission responded to these developments by publishing another Green Paper –

‘Towards a European Strategy for the Security of Energy Supply’92_{. The document became one of the most}

important pieces written on the EU energy policy by focusing on the structural weaknesses of the EU, ‘namely Europe’s growing dependence on energy, the role of oil as the governing factor in the price of energy and the disappointing results of policies to control consumption’93_{. Another}

important difference with the previous papers is the focus on the long-term energy trends, needs, and policy planning of the Union – more specifically it emphasised the tendency towards growing

86_{UNFCCC, 2017a.} 87_{United Nations, 1992.}

88_{Kuzemko and Hadfield, 2016, p25.} 89_{Schubert et al., 2016, p113.} 90_{European Commission, 1996.} 91_{European Commission, 1997.} 92_{European Commission, 2000.} 93_{Ibid, p2.}

Quo Vadis European Energy Policy?