Paper Titles & Abstracts

European integration today is at the crossroads. The European Union is facing a monetary crisis and member states are less willing to pool competences on EU level. After CAP and the common market the EU is in need of a new common project. Energy policy has always played an important role in the history of European integration. When the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established in 1951, the underlying idea was to provide stability on the European continent by integrating two key economies. After the gas dispute in 2006, when Russia cut off gas supplies via Ukrainian territory, the European Commission reacted with a green paper on a "European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy". Since 2006 energy policy has been included in the Treaty of Lisbon under Art.194 and consequently become part of the shared competences. A solidarity clause was added, which outlines that member states are to assist one another in the face of energy crises. In 2010 energy policy received its own portfolio within the Commission in form of the DG Energy and Günther Oettinger became the first EU Commissioner for energy. He introduced the Energy 2020 strategy later that year - a strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy in Europe. The security dimension of energy policy also takes effect in EU external policy - a policy field that traditionally remains within member state's competences. Thus energy policy is a policy field in which the member states are actually willing to cooperate and in 2011 Commission President Barroso said he views EU energy policy as the next great European Integration project. This paper shall examine the conditions of EU energy policy to become the next great integration project, as well as the chances and challenges to be faced.