02 June 2021
Student's new study looks at barriers to unified energy policy in Europe
The competing priorities of member states is a “key obstacle” to the introduction of a common foreign energy policy in the European Union, new research has concluded.
In an article for E-International Relations, Catharina Savelkoul found that moves towards a more unified stance on energy among EU states was being undermined by diverging priorities, with some states preferring a more flexible approach based on their own needs.
Catharina, who is studying in the Department of Political Economy, noted: “The key obstacle for the EU to pursue a common foreign energy policy is the internal division between member states who either seek to maintain their national energy sovereignty and avoid a unified stance in external relations, and the states who seek for the ‘Europeanisation’ of energy security.”
In the essay, Catherina, who is studying for a BSc in philosophy, politics and economics, drew on the cases of Poland and Germany, with the former pushing for greater solidarity amid a perceived threat to its national energy security while the latter resists attempts for unity as it benefits from advantageous bilateral agreements.
You can read the article in full here.