The EU in Global Energy Governance

This chapter gives an overview on the European Union (EU)’s role in global energy governance. It argues that the EU’s capacity to influence the global energy arena is determined by the complex internal design of EU (external) energy policy making on the one side, and the complex role the EU plays as a nontypical global actor in the fragmented landscape of global energy governance on the other side. The first part of the chapter gives an overview of the legal and political foundations shaping the EU’s internal and external policy making. It outlines the status of energy polices in EU treaties and the evolution of EU (external) energy policy ambitions over time and illustrates the role of various intra-EU institutions and instruments in shaping the EU’s external energy output. The second part of the chapter situates the EU within the fragmented global energy governance landscape, mapping the various regional and international organizations that address the EU’s triangular energy objectives – energy security, environmental sustainability, competitiveness – and reflects upon the EU’s status within these various institutions. The chapter closes by reflecting upon current challenges for the EU as an actor aiming at shaping global energy governance.