A strong start
The new European Commission comes at a time of great geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges. They brought to the fore the key role that energy plays in the security, industrial competitiveness and economic stability of Europe and its international partners. The EU’s energy systems are undergoing rapid transformation towards more flexible and interconnected power markets, further electrification and sustainable demand reduction. This offers an opportunity to lessen the EU’s dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets as well as reducing exposure to unwarranted dependencies on foreign suppliers. The EU has a key interest in sharing its domestic experience and technologies with other countries to bolster their energy transition and strengthen its alliances amidst changing geopolitics. EU energy diplomacy can serve its broader security, foreign, trade and climate policy.
Now is the time to upgrade and accelerate the EU’s energy diplomacy in order to ensure it is both a strong global player and a trusted partner. In this paper, several experts from European think tanks outline priorities for the new European Commission in the field of the European Green Deal energy diplomacy. The recommendations are based on previous analysis and expert debates.
About the author:
Giulia Cretti is a Research Fellow at the EU & Global Affairs Unit of the Clingendael Institute. Her work revolves around EU policy-making and external action, in particular green trade and green energy policy, and EU relations with the Western Balkans and ASEAN.
Sarah Lokenberg is a Junior Research Fellow at the Planetary Security Initiative and the EU & Global Affairs Unit of the Clingendael Institute. Her research revolves around climate-security and energy security.
Dr. Daniel Scholten is Research Associate at Clingendael’s EU & Global Affairs Unit working on EU’s role in the green transition. He is assistant professor at Delft University of Technology.
Louise van Schaik is Head of Unit EU & Global Affairs. She also coordinates Clingendael research in the field of climate change and sustainable development.