ESS404 ENERGY POLICY OF THE EU
Milestones of EU
integration
Institutions and their role
in policy-making
Problems and issues
 1950 - The Schuman Declaration
French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman - plan for FR and DE to
pool coal and steel production
 European unity is the key to peace
 1951 - Treaty of Paris establishes European Coal and Steel
Community ECSC – FR, DE, IT and Benelux
 sets up institutional ground
 High Authority - to manage the coal and steel industries (J.
Monnet)
 Common Assembly - a precursor of the European parliament
 Council of Ministers - to counterbalance the supranational High
Authority
 1957 - Treaty of Rome creates EEC (common market) and Euratom
(joint development of nuclear energy)
 Federalism vs. intergovernmentalism
 Horizontal and vertical integration, spillover-effect
 Enlargements:
1973 – GB, DN, IE, 1981- EL, 1986 – PT, ES, 1994 – AT, FI, SE, 2004 –
SK, SL, CZ, PL, LT, LV, ES, HU, MT, CY, 2007 – RO, BG, 2014 - HR
 Deepening the integration:
 1986 - Single European Act – 1st. major reform of Treaty of Rome
◦ Aimed to create single European market by the end 1992, QMV
 1991 - Maastricht Treaty - turns the Community into a Union
◦ single currency, CFSP
Impending enlargement required EU to reform its institutions
 1997 - The Amsterdam Treaty
 2000 - Nice Treaty
 2004 - Constitutional Treaty (not ratified)
 2007 - Reform Treaty – Treaty of Lisbon
 move from unanimity to QMV in many areas + change in
calculating such a majority - double majority (55% of
countries, 65 % of EU population)
 EP - more powerful - ordinary legislative procedure
 consolidated legal personality for the EU - President of the
EC and a HR of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
 Charter of Fundamental Rights - legally binding
 Energy policy
 Title XXI, article 194 on Energy – functioning of the energy
market; security of supply, energy efficiency and energy
saving, development of new and RES, interconnection of
energy networks, solidarity
 right to determine the conditions for exploiting national
energy resources, choice of own energy mix
 Unique institutional setup
 European Council – broad agenda, leaders of
EU
 European Parliament – directly elected MEPs
(751), represent citizens
 European Commission – represents the
interests of the EU as a whole, members
appointed by member states’ governments
 Council of the European Union – defends
national interests of member states
 European Court of Justice – interprets EU law
 European Central Bank
 The Court of Auditors
 The EU Ombudsman
 The Committee of the Regions (CoR)
 The Economic and Social Committee
 Various European agencies (EEA - European Environment
Agency, ACER - Agency for the Cooperation of Energy
Regulators, INEA - Innovation & Networks Executive Agency)
 politically independent executive arm promoting
general interest of the EU
 proposing and enforcing legislation, implementing
policies and the EU budget
 28 Commissioners - 1 from each EU country –
 the President, 7 Vice-Presidents (including the First
Vice-President, and the HR of the Union for Foreign
Policy and Security Policy, 20 Commissioners in
charge of portfolios
 Directorates-General (DGs), each responsible for
a specific policy area
 Energy (ENER)
 Environment (ENV)
 Climate Action (CLIMA)
 Proposes new laws for adoption by the
Parliament and the Council
 Manages EU policies & allocates EU funding
 spending priorities, annual budgets,
supervision
 Enforces EU law (together with the Court of
Justice)
 Represents the EU internationally
 Speaks on behalf of all EU countries in
international bodies, negotiates international
agreements
 Green paper (consultation) – White paper (statement)
 Communication - setting out a Commission action
plan (may include concrete proposals for legislation).
 Regulation - once approved, immediately applicable
and binding in all EU member states. No legislation is
required at a national government level.
 Directive - a decision at an EU level is used
to direct member state governments what to do.
Directives specify the results to be achieved and the
deadline, but not the form and methods of
implementation
 Recommendation - similar to Directives but – no legal
obligation (soft law)
 Decision - (by Council or Commission) apply
specifically to one or more member states and are
directly binding.
 Directly elected EU body with legislative, supervisory
and budgetary responsibilities, 751 MEPs
 Role growing in attempt to boost EU legitimacy
 Party groups play a key role - political affiliation
 Legislative process:
 Committees - to prepare legislation
 each handling a particular policy area
 examining proposals for legislation - amendments,
rejections
 Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)
 Plenary sessions – to pass legislation - final vote on
the proposed legislation and the proposed
amendments
 Legislative - passing EU laws, together with
the Council, deciding on international agreements,
enlargements, reviewing the EC’s work
programme and asking it to propose legislation
 Supervisory
 Democratic scrutiny of all EU institutions
 Electing the Commission President and approving
the Commission as a body
 Examining citizens' petitions, questioning EC and
Council
 Budgetary
 Establishing the EU budget, together with the
Council
 Approving the EU's long-term budget, the
"Multiannual Financial Framework"
 Ordinary legislative procedure - gives the same
weight to the EP and the Council on a wide range
of areas (incl. energy and the environment)
 Consultation– EP may approve or reject a
legislative proposal, or propose amendments.
The Council is not legally obliged to take account
of Parliament's opinion but it must not take a
decision without having received it (i.e. CFSP)
 Consent – non-legislative procedure, usually
applies to the ratification of certain agreements
negotiated (i.e. enlargement)
 Legislative initiative –allows EP to ask the
Commission to submit a proposal
 Voice of EU member governments
 Members: government ministers from each
EU country, according to the policy area to be
discussed - 10 different configurations
 Each EU country holds the presidency on a 6month
rotating basis
 Together with the EP - main decision-making
body of the EU
 Negotiates and adopts EU laws, together with
the European Parliament, based on proposals
from the European Commission
 Coordinates EU countries' policies
 Develops the EU's foreign & security policy,
based on European Council guidelines
 Concludes agreements between the EU and other
countries or international organisations
 Adopts the annual EU budget - jointly with the
European Parliament
 10 different configurations - Environment
Council (ENV), Transport, Telecommunications
and Energy Council (TTE) on energy issues
 decisions usually require a qualified majority
 55% of countries (with 28 current members,
this means 16 countries)
 representing at least 65 % of total EU
population.
 To block a decision - at least 4 countries
(representing at least 35% of total EU population)
 Exception - sensitive topics like foreign policy
and taxation require a unanimous vote
 Simple majority is required for procedural &
administrative issues
 Defines the general political direction and
priorities – but does not pass laws
 Deals with complex or sensitive issues that
cannot be resolved at lower levels of
intergovernmental cooperation
 Sets the EU's common foreign & security
policy
 usually meets 4 times a year, generally
decides issues by consensus
 Ensuring EU law is interpreted and applied the same in
every EU country, settles legal disputes between national
governments and EU institutions
 ensuring countries and EU institutions abide by EU law
 Court of Justice – deals with requests for preliminary
rulings from national courts, certain actions for annulment
and appeals
 1 judge from each EU country, plus 9 Advocates General
 General Court – rules on actions for annulment brought by
individuals, companies and, in some cases, EU
governments. In practice the court deals mainly with
competition law, State aid, trade, agriculture, trade marks
 1 judge from each EU country
 Civil Service Tribunal - rules on disputes between the EU
and its staff - 7 judges
 What is EU?
 A political system, a federal super-state in the
making? A complex system of multi-level
governance?
 The ‘democratic deficit’
 The complexity of governance
 Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) – euro
crisis
 Common Foreign and Security Policy,
Common Energy Policy (Common External
Energy Policy)
 Further enlargement? / Brexit?
Thank you for your attention