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13 - The external dimension of the internal energy market

Bart Van Vooren  and
Ramses A. Wessel
Bart Van Vooren
Affiliation:
ALTIUS, Brussels
Ramses A. Wessel
Affiliation:
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
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Summary

Central issues

  • Collaboration in the energy sector goes back to the ECSC, yet to this day no full-blown EU external energy policy exists. In this chapter we first examine the development of the EU internal energy market, focusing on how an external dimension has recently started to develop to serve EU internal needs.

  • Substantive dimension: the Lisbon Treaty had the purpose of strengthening coherence in EU external relations, and expressly conferred an energy competence onto the EU (Article 194 TFEU). This chapter examines policy coherence in EU external energy policy from the substantive, institutional and vertical dimensions. Here the focus lies on the relationship between energy diplomacy, security of supply and the law-based market-orientated approach. The chapter queries whether the new competence will permit a more integrated approach between different objectives of EU energy policy.

  • In the current setting, there is disagreement on the respective roles of the HR and the EEAS; and the Commission and the Energy Commissioner. These bodies have different perspectives on what EU external energy policy is about, with significant impact on the external dimension of the internal energy market. The strengthened role of the EP in EU external energy policy is also to be taken into account.

  • The progressive advancement of the internal energy market has suffered from a limited political recognition by the Member States that there was the need for a fully fledged external dimension. This is due to the continued priority of Member State national interests over the common EU interest, leading to a significant lack of Member State compliance with Union law on the path to completing the internal market. Similar processes can be observed in the external dimension of the internal energy market, and this chapter therefore pays significant attention to the duty of cooperation as it has been formalized in a legally binding instrument at the end of 2012.

    • Type
    Chapter
    Information
    EU External Relations Law
    Text, Cases and Materials
     , pp. 438 - 474
    Publisher: Cambridge University Press
    Print publication year: 2014

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