Towards a European Energy Community: A Policy Proposal

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 the competitiveness of its economy and promoting sustainable development both internally and externally.

Initiated by Jacques Delors, this report is the harvest of the work of the Task Force of high-level European experts established by Notre Europe to study the feasibility of a European Energy Community. It gives an overview and assessment of the policies developed at European level so far and examines whether the existing European energy policy is capable of pursuing its three key objectives of “affordable access to energy; sustainable development of energy production, transport, and consumption; and security-of-supply” in a consistent and credible manner. Relying on the conclusions that the existing European energy policy is suboptimal, the report puts forward a policy proposal for a genuine ‘European Energy Community’. It explains why and what type of action is required to develop such Energy Community, identifying both the substantial elements which it should ideally cover and the legal and institutional policy instruments at the EU’s disposal for developing it. The report finally examines how this model could be best achieved and develops several recommendations to that effect.