Securing Europe’s Energy Future
Today’s preference for individual EU members to act unilaterally on energy must be replaced by a common energy policy based on solidarity among member states and unity in defending EU interests vis-à-vis external partners. After all, given that such solidarity is what allowed Europe to prosper and integrate over the past 50 years, why abandon a winning formula?
Most Europeans agree that reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is crucial to Europe’s security and prosperity; that energy can be used as a political weapon, as when Russia shut off gas to Ukraine in January 2006; and that Europe is far too dependent on energy supplies from undemocratic and unstable countries or regions. Yet, despite wide agreement on these matters, there is little consensus about how to address them.