Studies On Energy Security Strategy Of The EU

The European Union, composted of 27 member states, is now the first largest energy consumer and the second largest energy importer in the world. The European Union has been concerning the issue of energy security. With social and economic development and the changes of international environment, the EU adjusts its energy security strategy to the new realities. After Iraq war, increase in energy prices, a steady escalation in global energy demands, energy geopolitical evolution and the slow process of the internal energy market, all of these factors forced the EU to adjust the strategy to deal with energy security challenges.This contribution tries to establish a new analyzing framework to explain properly the EU energy security strategy and that's practice. From the perspective of interaction of market governance and geopolitics, this article takes the EU as a geopolitical actor and argues that the EU is changing its traditional market approach of energy security strategy towards a balance between market and geopolitics. On the one hand, the EU has been integrating internal energy market through liberalizing reform and effective regulation to increase energy security; On the other hand, the EU tries to expend its principles, rules and standers to a wider Europe even to world so as to increase the geopolitical influence of the EU and to secure the energy supply in the long run and achieve the target of reducing carbon emissions.Internal energy market, energy efficiency and renewable energy are the content of the internal energy security strategy of EU. European internal electricity and gas market is essential to the energy security strategy. The EU is completing a single energy market by improving legislation such as"unbundling"to enhance market competition, increase investment in the energy industry sector and mitigate energy high import dependency. Energy efficiency and renewable energy would benefit environment security and reduce fossil energy usage, particularly promote the European towards a low carbon economy.The EU first integrates energy into series foreign policy framework (such as enlargement policy, European Neighbor Policy, CFSP, common commercial policy as well as conflict prevent and crisis management). The objective of external energy strategy of the EU is to develop external energy policy on the Europe level. The EU will increase to coordinate with member states about external energy relations and the EU will play more active role. But the intergovernmentalism should still be the nature of European external energy policy structure and unanimity will also be adopted in policy-making.To meet the objectives of energy security strategy, the EU will engage comprehensive energy diplomacy."Fan-European energy security community"is the core of this roadmap. One of the focal points of European energy diversification strategy is Central Asia and Caspian and Black Sea regions. The EU gives Europe-Africa energy relationship strategic meanings and energy security policy is becoming a higher priority in transatlantic context.The EU puts energy and climate change together and has the two issues become the priorities of EU external relations. The strategic objective of EU is to dominate over regulating rules in the affairs of international energy security and climate change and to prevent European economic competition in the global. So how to respond the EU energy security strategy would China foreign policy face and also involve the China-EU strategic relationship in the future.