Energy Policies of the EU: The Dilemma of Sovereignty and Unity
The European Union, rooted in coal and steel which are the main raw materials of industry, was founded in the wake of the Second World War. During this process, the EU developed a common market and a complex structure within enlarged union borders, as well as made efforts to increase its competitive capacity. In this period, environmental problems, the development of common and competitive market dynamics, and the resolution of the supply problem were the central concerns in the Union’s policies. According to a report prepared by the Robert Schuman Center in 2010, these three main factors were described as the “three mantras” of Kyoto, Lisbon, and Moscow. These three mantras are prominent in terms of understanding the EU’s present energy policies. First, as far as the Kyoto Protocol is concerned, the signatory EU member countries promised to cut carbon emissions by 20% as compared to the 1990 standards. Then, the EU more ambitiously set the goal of cutting them by 30%, and by 2050, th...