Background Paper : Energy Trends in Europe

The energy issues faced by the Union today and in the future are numerous and unprecedented in scale. Whereas many constraints affect the energy situation in Europe today (and increasingly so until at least 2030), the European Union must guarantee the energy supply to its consumers, while simultaneously preserving (or improving) the competitiveness of its economy and promoting sustainable development both internally and externally.

The numerous factors blocking the creation of a genuine common energy policy, together with doubts over the current capacity of the EU and its Member States to meet the challenge, lead us to ask whether the Union disposes of the necessary legal foundations to conduct such a common policy.