The European Energy Policy – A Framework For Decreasing The Gap Between Member States. Is The Energy Market Liberalization A Sustainable Approach Or An Ongoing Risk?

Abstract

Energy independence was a long-time dream of European Member States, thus numerous regulations and actions were designed specific for its implementation. In a society characterized by constant evolution, energy independence is regarded as a proof of the existence of coherent supranational strategies, but also as a necessary effort that is to be unravelled at national level. Unlike the first actions in the energy sector, the current market is the expression of a competitive space that has adapted an approach depending upon efficiency and sustainability. In this paper, I present, using a macro-level approach, the transformations of the European energy market and the challenges that arise. I examine both the actions that lead to the liberalization efforts, as well as the disparities that characterize the Member States involved in this process. Therefore, I question the process of liberalization of the energy market as being a straight-forward one and I investigate the variables (such as types of energy and national energy strategies) that directly influence this process. This aim of this paper is to offer insights, using both a quantitative and a qualitative approach, in the way in which the liberalization process ought to occur, and elaborate on the country-specific factors that affect it, making liberalization a process characterized by vulnerabilities.