Missing: A common energy policy for Europe

This paper will examine European integration from a rational choice institutionalist perspective and the development of energy policies in order to understand aspects of policy issues that the European Union currently faces. It argues that the diversity of the energy environment between member states has limited areas of common ground on which energy policies can be built during the decision making process. The paper will define concepts of institutional theory, European integration, and decision making among the member states. This will be followed by sections on energy policy, the importance of natural gas and oil at the national level and why there is limited policy coordination and cooperation among the member states, and the influence of non-European Union countries, particularly Russia, on European energy policies. The paper will conclude with a reflection on the future of a European energy policy and the process of integration.