Bridging the Gap between Environmental Policy Integration and the EU’s Energy Policy: Mapping out the ‘Green Europeanisation’ of Energy Governance

Abstract

The Europeanisation of energy policy has occupied a remote place in the European integration literature to date. However, current developments such as the Energy Policy for Europe launched in 2007 and the Lisbon Treaty Title XXI on Energy have given greater prominence to this policy area within the integration process. Hence, there are several indications that the Europeanisation of energy policy is already taking place, even though the understanding of this process is still weak. And indeed, European studies are just beginning to shed light on this policy area. Against this backdrop, this article examines the EU environmental performance, supported by the Environmental Policy Integration (EPI), as a driver for energy governance during the process of Europeanisation. Its main argument is that EPI is not only a variable for explaining the governance changes at the EU level concerning energy – defined here as ‘green Europeanisation’–, but also a useful instrument for pursuing coherence within the emergent EU energy policy.