The European Union in its present-day form is the result of various associations of individual states such as the ECSC and the EEC. These organisations were founded in the 1950s, in part to enable the production and trading of energy under common sets of rules. However, a truly coherent energy policy did not emerge until 2007 when the European Energy Strategy was first adopted. Current challenges include issues such as climate change and energy efficiency, the dependence on fossil fuel imports, the energy transition or the return of the US to fossil fuels.
Energy
The journey from a coal union to the energy transition
The Slow End of Coal
Coal is one of the most damaging sources of energy to the climate.
TurkStream pipeline nearly complete: Gazprom
The TurkStream pipeline, due to supply Russian gas to Turkey via the Black Sea from next year, is already 80 percent complete, the CEO of the Russian gas giant Gazprom has said.
Seasonal clock changes: EU mulls abolishing controversial ritual
The twice-yearly changing of the clocks for winter and summer has been a ritual in Europe since 1916 but the EU says it will now recommend that the practise be abolished altogether.
EU chokes on own air quality standards
Air pollution causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in Europe. AFP survey examines how the European Union is trying to enforce air pollution standards across the 28-member bloc.
Commodity dependence in the energy sector
The import of raw materials from the energy sector into the European Union (oil, gas, coal)