European Energy Studies, Volume 8: The European Energy Union

This timely book shows how the creation of a European Energy Union might be an effective and viable solution to the energy security problems that the European Union is facing. The aim is to make it easier to trade energy inside the EU. The EU currently has to rely on energy-rich countries for its energy needs, many of whom are politically and economically unstable; this places the EU in a vulnerable position. The book explores the institutional and legal framework for the creation of a European Energy Union, whose aim is to achieve affordable, secure, and sustainable energy. The book explores what the EU is politically prepared to accept as part of its united energy security. Combined with the perception of energy security being a pressing matter, the general disenchantment surrounding the European ideal in the wake of the economic crisis makes the task of ensuring affordable, secure, and sustainable energy a formidable challenge. In that vein, the European Energy Union could well be the flagship of this new outset towards a more prosperous, energy-secure, and united Europe-bearing in mind that EU member states wish to guard their sovereignty over national energy systems. In the past, there have been divisions between EU member states when trying to draft a united energy policy. The European Energy Union tries to rectify this deficiency. This book proposes the emulation of the EU's common commercial policy to reach a common position in EU energy policy. It analyzes the role of the Energy Community and the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Partnership as avenues to further integrate energy markets beyond European borders, especially with the Eastern and Southern neighbours of the EU. It also dwells on the advancements that could arise in terms of pan-European energy infrastructure through the anticipated financial boost resulting from, inter alia, the Investment Plan for Europe, the European Structural and Investment funds, and the Connecting Europe Facility. Finally, it provides an analysis of climate change mitigation by focusing on the importance of decarbonizing the economy and analyzing the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Highlights: First book to analyze the European Energy Union and the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Explains the five pillars of the European Energy Union. Cross-examination of the EU's competence in the areas of energy and trade to surmise whether a more harmonized European energy strategy could, legally and conceptually, be realized anytime soon.