“Without energy there is no economy.Without climate there is no environment. Without economy and environment ,there is no material well being, no civil society, no personal or national security” (John P. Holdren )
At the beginning of the 21st century we are witnessing the increasing dependence of the world’s economies on energy resources. The world economy still depends on oil and gas as a central energy resource, and the dispute for resources dominates the geopolitics of the 21st century. The issue of resources has many facets, their deficiency having an important role in triggering or amplifying conflicts, polarization and / or catalysis of forces. Moreover, differentiated access to resources affects relations between states with the most destructive consequences. As Heffron and Talus argue “given the limitation of primary energy resources, in order to achieve sustainability in this area, energy needs to be produced, delivered and consumed more efficiently than before.The current concerns are in respect of production, transport ,consumption and environmental protection and if there are no major changes, the whole of mankind could face a significant crises in the coming decades thus ,energy policy and regulations in this area play a significant role. The energy development’s future must therefore be seen through the lens of a triangle, known as Energy Law and Policy Triangle or Energy Trilemma. “
The triangle is formed by three main components: the policy (energy security), economics (finance) and environment (climate change mitigation).In the centre of this triangle is situated Energy Law and Policy. According to the same authors ”these three issues are each trying to pull energy law and policy in their direction and it is important that this point to be well balanced.This aspect is known as being energy trilemma”.In fact, this is the
difference between energy law and policy triangle and energy trilemma. A great significance also is the relationship between energy and sustainable development. Defining sustainable development, we can say that this is the development of the present society without endangering the future generations.
The climate change has become a reality all over the world and the energy sector is an important factor leading to this major challenge. In this line, John P. Holdren, the assistant to the former President of the United States for Science and Technology and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, has analyzed in depth all these problems concerning the relationship between energy and climate change and he concluded that at global level there are profound changes in climate. In the current context of global energy policies, we are witnessing an unprecedented challenge due to climate change.
Tab 1.0 : Energy Law and Policy Triangle (Energy Trilemma)
Source : University of Stirling
Energy resources and raw materials are generally limited and spread unevenly across the Earth .The spectrum of energy resources depletion in the coming years has made a significant part of both external and power policies, concerned with the accessibility of pipelines and terminals, future routes of energy or partnerships. On the other hand, the emphasis is on identifying the most efficient ways of using ,and possibilities of replacing these resources ,reducing environmental imbalances caused by exploitation, conditioning, processing and use of resources.The energy domain is largely responsible for planetary pollution mainly because of the widespread use of fossil fuels.
Starting in the 90’s ,more and more analysts strongly agree with the idea that the geopolitical region with the most spectacular ascendancy in the world is the Asia Pacific area ,especially Central Asia and the Caucasian Caspian region due to oil and gas resources.However, taking into account low polluting effects, the importance of natural gas has increased enormously over the last period of time.
The strategic balance of stability and peace in Europe is not so obvious on any of the Euro-Atlantic geopolitical borders, as it is in the wider Black Sea region. The only real strategic development is the transformation of the Black Sea region into the geopolitical pivot of Euro-Atlanticism in the 21st century. From here it can build stability bridges to Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Energy has been part of the European integration process from the start. The Treaty on the European Coal and Steel Community (1951) and the Euratom Treaty establishing a European Atomic Energy Community (1957) focused on two of the most important sources of energy, coal and nuclear energy, respectively.Subsequently, the increased importance of oil, gas and electricity has managed to keep energy on the top of the Community’s economic and political agenda, leading to an increase in regulatory activity at the Community level in order to create a European Energy Market and a gradual development of an EU energy policy.
However, only 50 years later, under the Treaty of Lisbon (2007), energy is given a legal basis and the EU acquires shared competences with the Member States in this area.
The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement which amends the treaties which form the constitutional basis of European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by the EU Member States on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1993), known in updated form as the Treaty of European Union (2007) or TEU, and the Treaty of Rome(1957), known in updated form as the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union(2007) or TFEU. It also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).
Indeed, Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU states that, in the context of the establishment and functioning of the internal market, and in view of the need to preserve and improve the environment, the Union’s energy policy pursues, in the spirit of solidarity between Member States: to ensure the functioning the energy market; to ensure the security of energy supply in the Union; promote energy efficiency and energy saving as well as the development of new sources of energy and renewable energies.
At the same time, it is foreseen that the necessary measures to achieve these three objectives (competitiveness, sustainability and security of energy supply) are without prejudice to the right of a Member State to determine the conditions for exploiting its own energy resources, its right to choose different energy sources and the overall structure of its energy supply.
The Fukushima reactor disaster of March 2011 reinforced the nuclear dimension of EU Energy Policy by conducting a comprehensive exercise of resistance tests on nuclear installations in the European Union (and neighboring countries) in 2011-2012 and, subsequently, by adopting Directive 2014/87 / Euratom amending Directive 2009/71 / Euratom establishing a Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations.
Since the discovery of unconventional gas reserves in various EU countries, a process has been started at the Union level to assess the effects of this resource on the environment and human and natural habitats. On 22 January 2014, the European Commission launched Recommendation 2014/70 / EU on minimum principles for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons using hydraulic fracturing, together with the Communication on exploration and production of hydrocarbons using hydraulic fracturing.
On 25 February 2015, the Commission launches the Communication on the Energy Union, which sets out the vision for the future of the European energy system and the steps needed to achieve it.
The Energy Union is based on the three objectives of the EU’s energy policy and focuses on five mutually supportive dimensions: energy security; internal energy market; energy efficiency; low carbon policy; research, innovation and competitiveness.
