Unconventional Energy Sources and EU Energy Security: A Legal, Economic and Political Analysis (original) (raw)

Designing international trade in energy governance for EU energy security

Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper 197/2015, pp. 1-4, 2015

This chapter argues that it is necessary to develop effective trade policy instruments for European Union (EU) energy security to identify the existing gaps in energy trade governance. The idea is to develop a concept of ‘governance by design’ through the interplay of various legal regimes and institutions, with the ultimate aim of facilitating the creation of the planned European energy union. The aim is to achieve affordable, secure and sustainable energy. The EU is the first region in the world to set up the ambitious target of decarbonizing its economy by 2050. All of this could be reproduced in other regions of the world and eventually create a new international energy order. This requires a fresh and comprehensive approach to legal instruments. Without a deep understanding of the current systemic aspects of energy trade governance and their implications for EU energy security, it is impossible to achieve effective change. Our world faces two major challenges when it comes to energy. For one thing, one person in five on the planet still lacks access to electricity, and almost three billion people still use wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating. The other main global energy challenge is that, in places with access to modern energy services, the lion’s share of energy usage stems from fossil fuels. A fuller understanding of the link between energy trade governance and EU energy security is necessary to propose reforms.

How governing international trade in energy can enhance EU energy security

Energy security, or the access to energy at an affordable price, is one of the main problems that humanity faces today and the European Union (EU) has to rely on energy-rich countries for its energy needs. This paper offers four ways in which the EU may enhance its energy security through the international trading system. First, since the regulation of energy in international law is fragmented and largely incoherent, it is essential to understand the overall trade in energy system and determine its net effect in terms of EU energy security. Second, all forms of energy should be subject to the same rules. Energy may become part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agenda in the near future. Given that current WTO rules are far from addressing all the needs of energy trade today, is it necessary to have a WTO Agreement on trade in energy? If so, can and should the Energy Charter Treaty be used as a model? Moreover, now that Russia has joined the WTO and that energy is one of its greatest assets in economic terms, would this be the right time to include energy trade as part of the WTO Agreements? Those energy-rich Middle Eastern countries that are not yet WTO Members but wish to become WTO Members will most likely follow Russia. These Middle Eastern countries should prioritize the conclusion of negotiations to enter the WTO in order to integrate fully into the global trading system and protect their growing interests on world markets. WTO membership will certainly help eliminate any discrimination against them in their trade. Third, since the EU is energy-dependent, it is necessary to propose models for enhanced governance of energy trade to promote energy security. The aim is to find ways so that this can be encouraged normatively. The expansion of the Energy Charter’s membership to countries in the Middle East and North Africa and to the Economic Community of West African States may be an avenue to enhance EU energy security through the creation of an infrastructure that will enhance international, long-distance trade in energy. Fourth, the aim of the international community is to decarbonize the economy. With renewables, international trade in energy is likely to increase. In turn, the trading system can be a major vehicle towards moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. To this end, it can provide fair competition, economies of scale and knowledge transfer. Very little research has been conducted on the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in addressing climate change mitigation and energy security. It is thus worth exploring the potential of incorporating chapters addressing climate change mitigation and promoting renewable energy within PTAs, for which the EU could make use of its vast network of PTAs. There could well be tangible ways in which the EU can, through its network of PTAs, move towards greater energy independence as renewable energy becomes increasingly economically viable.

Editorial: The European Union's External Energy Policy

Journal of Contemporary European Research

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY APPROPRIATE MOMENT FOR THE PUBLICATION OF A SPECIAL ISSUE on the European Union's External Energy Policy. With the rising price of fuel on the world market, over the past months energy supply security has become an issue of vital importance to many governments (if it had not been that already). The implications of the present 'crisis in oil prices', both for the individual citizen and the economy as a whole, and especially the fisheries sector, were extensively debated at the recent European Council (19-20 June 2008) in Brussels. The crisis came as a shock to many, but analysts had already predicted that the inevitable emergence of a shortage of supplies on the global market would have severe economic consequences for many.

The creation of a European energy union

European Energy Journal, Vol. 5, Issue 3, pp. 24-60, 2015

Energy security is one of the main problems that humanity faces today and the European Union (EU) has to rely on energy-rich countries for its energy needs. The European Innovation Union, the Energy Community, and the Europe 2020 initiative address energy security as a priority, but policies seem to be reactive instead of addressing energy security in its complexity. This problem can be solved with appropriate legal tools. Energy governance has links with several policies: trade, investment, environmental protection, energy transit, energy security, finance, et cetera. Of these policies, energy trade has a high impact for European energy security policy. Currently, the international community does not address trade in energy as a cohesive entity and its governance is fragmented. The paper explores the institutional legal framework for the creation of a European energy union, whose aim is to achieve affordable, secure and sustainable energy. This energy union is based on five pillars, which are analyzed: security, solidarity and trust; the completion of a competitive internal market; moderation of demand; the decarbonization of the EU energy mix (i.e., greater use of renewable energy); and technologies. The EU is the first region in the world to set up the ambitious target of decarbonizing its economy by 2050. The paper then looks at the energy union in the context of the rule of law. All of this could be reproduced in other regions of the world and eventually create a new international energy order. This requires a fresh and comprehensive approach to legal instruments.

Revision of the European Treaties in the Energy Sector

Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 1992

The energy policy of the European Community (EC) has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, due in a large part to increased public concern about the safety of nuclear energy, the environmental impact of fossil fuels (particularly global warming and acid rain), and the maintenance of security of supplies (as demonstrated in the Gulf War). These concerns have focused attention on the shortcomings of existing Community energy policy, which currently draws upon three separate treaties and is, as a result, fragmented and lacking in overall coherence. This article examines the energy provisions of the three European Community treaties and highlights some of the difficulties involved in developing a coherent energy policy based on them.'

Introduction: The EU and the Changing (Geo)Politics of Energy in Europe

2019

This introductory chapter has three purposes. First, it presents the background for this volume originating in a research project on European integration funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN). Second, it explains why EU energy policy in this context deserves closer scrutiny looking at energy relationships between the EU and external suppliers of energy and the EU and member states. Finally, this chapter gives an overview of the content of this book and explains rationales for the choice of cases presenting how the EU projects its power, how external suppliers Norway, Russia, Algeria and LNG providers have responded and how the member states Germany, Poland and the three Baltic countries interact with the EU when implementing their energy policies.

EU Energy Law and Policy: The external dimension

Eliva Press, 2020

This timely book explores the external dimension of the European Union's (EU) energy law and policy. In doing so, it provides an analysis of the EU's competences in the energy field, the Energy Community and its relation to EU energy policy, the energy relations between the EU and two major energy regions (Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council), and the EU's participation in energy treaties.

Power Politics and Energy Politics: Two Sides of the Same Euro Coin

Central European Journal of International and Security Studies, 2021

The growing eu energy market and the decline of its domestic hydrocarbon reserves have made the eu-Russia energy relations a very debatable and significant issue of the very near future. It is unquestioned that energy trade is found at the core of every political entity or group of entities desiring to be independent and self-helped. The current paper aims to discuss the theoretical legacy of this energy debate on the basis of international relations theory and international political economy underlining the significance of energy trade and its interlinkage to core aspects of security. In this respect, it is also analysed why natural gas is a special energy product and which are the limits between dependence and interdependence as well as the implications derived from each one of these.