dc.identifier.citation | Bram DELVAUX, Michaël HUNT and Kim TALUS (eds), EU Energy Law and Policy Issues, 2nd ed., Rixensart, Euroconfidentiel, 2010, ELRF Collection, 51-86 | en |
dc.description.abstract | For the past three decades, the attainment of an internal energy market has been at
the centre stage of European Energy Policy. The recent adoption of the Third Energy
Package is a further demonstration of this course of action. The growing need for Europe
to tackle a number of concerns be they related to energy security or environmental
protection form the rationale behind this pursuit.
Today, if EU energy policy is first founded on the effective realization of an
internal energy market, it also becomes increasingly visible that the EU cannot simply
rely on this approach. In order to deal with the imperatives of a coherent energy policy,
the elaboration of an external energy policy is regarded as a sine qua non at the
institutional level. The recent Second Strategic Energy Review and the Energy Security
and Solidarity Action plan it contains emphasizes the importance of a greater focus on the
EU’s energy international relations.
Amongst the initiatives established in regard of such a process, the Treaty
establishing the Energy Community for South East Europe (Energy Community Treaty -
EnCT) of October 25, 2005 constitutes a clear priority. If the Treaty has been acclaimed
at the institutional level, its limited exposure does not appear proportional to its political,
economic and legal implications. This contribution aims at providing a clear picture of
the process behind the Treaty, its legal substance as well as considering the adequacy of
this new initiative. Indeed, the Treaty is built upon the belief that the EU energy acquis
can be called upon in order to create a regional energy market in the South East of
Europe. Once established, this regional market would then be integrated to the wider
European internal energy market. If the process appears appealing and simple on paper, a
number of issues surround its pertinence and achievability.
Considering the specific case of electricity, this study first underlines some limits
of the current European regulatory framework in relation to the achievement of an
efficient European electricity market. As a response to these observed shortcomings, the
Third Energy Package will then be scrutinized so as to underline possible solutions. The
current state of play on European electricity markets having been etched, an assessment
of the situation in South East European (hereinafter SEE) countries sheds some light as to
the difficulties that currently exist on their electricity markets and restrict the emergence
of a South East European regional electricity market. Through the comparison of the
European Internal Electricity market and the situation that prevails in SEE countries, this
study questions the coherence of the Energy Community enterprise. Through such an
analysis, a number of lessons as to the possibility to duplicate the internal energy market
to neighbouring and developing countries will hopefully emerge. | en |