EU energy diplomacy: “more coordination is needed at the Union level”

Brussels – “Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU and its member states have intensified their energy diplomacy,”  Szymon Kardaś, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council On Foreign Relations (ECFR), wrote in a paper, adding that according to data compiled by the Ecfr’s Energy Deals Tracker, “more than 180 agreements have been concluded between the EU and its member states and third countries, both at government and corporate level. At the same time, pressure on member states to meet energy transition targets remains high, especially as according to recent European Commission’s assessment, the EU is not on track to meet its 2030 emissions reduction targets,” the author points out.

However, while there are agreements in favor of the green transition, the database “shows that the EU and its member states have largely focused on energy crisis diplomacy by prioritizing rapid and secure access to energy. As many as 45 percent of the agreements dealt with gas cooperation, securing supply from alternative sources to Russia,” Kardaś notes.

“While efforts to diversify the supply of fossil fuels or nuclear fuel are a welcome development for Europe’s energy security, at times this has undermined the European Green Deal’s objective to phase in clean fuels,” Kardaś said. “Of particular concern is the long-term gas contracts which European companies have concluded with Qatar in autumn 2023 for the supply of liquified natural gas to the Netherlands, Italy, and France. Indeed, some of the long-term contracts extend beyond 2050, when the EU plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.”

Kardaś then points out that data collected by the Energy Deals Tracker over the past two years “also show that EU energy diplomacy is very fragmented. Although the Union has concluded several important energy cooperation agreements with third countries, such as partnerships with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Norway, and the United States,the main role in the context of energy diplomacy is played by member states. Of the 183 agreements identified in our database, as many as 169 are initiatives of member states and private companies, and only 14 agreements were concluded at the European level alone.”

To achieve maximum efficiency and synergy from agreements concluded between Member States and Brussels and third countries and companies, according to the ECFR researcher’s analysis, “the Commission should consider setting up a mechanism to monitor the individual efforts of each member state. A first step could be the creation of sectoral databases of concluded energy deals, which would allow the EU and its member states to get a better understanding, for example, how much gas is contracted to be supplied to the EU in the short, medium or long term.” Such a system, Kardaś argues, “would allow member states to avoid a possible oversupply of imported raw materials or to avoid committing to unnecessary infrastructure development that would create the risk of stranded assets. In turn, in the case of indicative agreements on renewable energy cooperation or decarbonization projects, member states and the EU itself could monitor the next steps, taking action to stimulate or remove barriers to their implementation.”

For Europeans to achieve effective coordination between the EU and member state actions, “regular reality checks at the European level are crucial. With a more cohesive picture of the EU’s energy deals, its energy diplomacy can begin to shift from crisis mode to one focused on the green transition,” the analysis concludes.