Toward a Smart EU Energy Policy: Rationale and 22 Recommendation

In the spring of 2007, the European Council agreed on a policy vision with three components: the green component (to promote a sustainable energy economy), the market component (to enhance efficiency and competition) and the security of supply component (to secure the EU’s energy supply). With regard to these three components, distinct implementing paths and action lines were developed. The existence of separate implementing paths entails some coordination issues. Coordination is necessary here to guarantee that the three action lines are integrated into a consistent EU Energy Policy. EU Energy policy needs to get smarter and align the incentives deriving from the three components to produce an integrated vision that moves beyond 2020. 22 policy recommendations can then be formulated for the most relevant energy-related issues which the EU is facing nowadays.