Energy security in Europe

Calls for a European energy policy that simultaneously guarantees security of supply, environmental performance and competitive prices present an “unsolvable equation” and risk leading to ineffective responses, warns Jan Horst Keppler, in an April 2007 paper for the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

For Keppler, the main problem at the moment is that Europe wants it all – high security of supply, a high level of environmental protection, and low energy prices. The absence of discussion of the role of energy prices in the security of supply debate is of particular concern to him.
Establishing a realistic and effective energy policy will initially require European stakeholders – energy experts and media, industry and political figures – to sit down and negotiate a trade-off between these objectives, insists Keppler. On this basis, better harmonisation of the Union’s internal policy and its policy towards external actors should develop.

EurActiv