The Long Road to a European Energy Union

Summary The Long Road to a European Energy Union

Introduction
Europe's Energy History, A Series of Fits and Starts
The Five Pillars of the European Energy Union
Natural Gas: Securing Supply Is the First Priority
The European Commission: Electrical Interconnectors

From the moment the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was announced in 1950 to the unveiling of the "Energy Union" project in early 2015, the European Union has been striving to streamline, if not unify, the disparate energy policies of its Member States. Against the backdrop of the energy transition and climate change, the European Commission's proposals give priority to securing energy supply. This brings to the fore the issue of natural gas, for which the European Union is highly dependent on imports. For electricity, on the other hand, the number of interconnectors between national grids is rising all the time.

L’Europe de l’énergie : une histoire à éclipses

The history of European construction began in the early 1950s with a decision by several countries to pool their production of coalCoal is ranked by its degree of transformation or maturity, increasing in carbon content from... , the most important source of energy at the time. History did not follow a linear progression however, and 75 years later, the European Union is still trying to coordinate its energy policies, while grappling with the new threat of global warmingGlobal warming, also called planetary warming or climate change... .

Les 5 piliers de l’Union européenne de l’énergie

In early 2015, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, laid out his roadmap for an "Energy Union", just shortly after his November 2014 election. In doing so, he implicitly acknowledged Europe's past failures in the area. The main objectives of the roadmap are to limit the E.U.'s dependence on Russian natural gas, bring down energy prices and reduce greenhouse gas (ghg) Gas with physical properties that cause the Earth's atmosphere to warm up. There are a number of naturally occurring greenhouse gases... (GHG) emissions.

3 - Gaz naturel : la sécurité d’approvisionnement, objectif n°1

The European Commission's proposals for a "European Energy Union" give priority to securing energy supply. This brings to the fore the issue of natural gas, for which the European Union is highly dependent on imports.

4 – Interconnexions électriques : les objectifs de la Commission européenne

While waiting for the emergence of a European "super grid" spanning all countries in the European Union and beyond, the European Commission has begun to set targets to encourage interconnections between national grids with the goal of strengthening cooperation among states, creating a single electricityForm of energy resulting from the movement of charged particles (electrons) through a conductor... market and incorporating the booming renewable energies sector.