Is Energy Still the Driving Force of the European Union?

Maison Suger is pleased to host the ninth session of the seminar organised by GRETS: "Is Energy Still the Driving Force of the European Union?", with Gilles Lepesant, Géographer at CNRS, CEFRES (Prague).

The session will be introduced by Ferenc Fodor - EDF R&D.

The seminar will be held in French

The role played by the ECSC and Euratom suggests that energy has been a driving force behind European integration since the 1950s. However, it was not until 2007 that an article of the Treaty on European Union was dedicated to it and that a strategy going beyond competition policy alone was outlined, driven in particular by international climate negotiations and Russia’s manipulation of the gas market. Climate and security of supply issues have thus become central themes of European policy.
At its inception, the current energy-climate strategy enjoyed broad support from Member States and the European Parliament. It is now contested on the grounds that it is excessively costly, lacks industrial ambition, and has no effect on the Union’s security of supply. From the carbon market to interconnections and the role assigned to renewable energy, contentious issues abound. The energy crisis triggered by the conflict in Iran in early 2026—the second major crisis in four years—presents an additional challenge in this context. Yet while these crises undermine European ambitions, they seem just as likely to validate them. 

To discuss this hypothesis, the presentation will first briefly outline the initial impacts of the Iranian crisis, particularly on Europe. We will then address certain debates regarding the EU’s energy and climate strategy and the changes it is undergoing in a new political context. The Central European region—between the Baltic and the Mediterranean—will be discussed to illustrate how Europe’s energy landscape is being reshaped by policy choices regarding decarbonization and security of supply.

• Gilles Lepesant is a geographer and a Research Director at the CNRS (CEFRES, French Center for Social Science Research in Prague). He is an associate researcher at the Asian Energy Studies Centre (Hong Kong Baptist University). He teaches at Sciences Po Paris and at the CIFE (International Center for European Training). His main research focus is European energy policy, its regional implications, and the challenges of its implementation by member states and cities. His latest book is titled Geographies of Energy: Europe in the New Global Balance, Hermann, Paris, 2022.

• Gilles Lepesant (2024), « Entre défis de sécurité et ambitions climatiques, l’affirmation d’une Union européenne de l’énergie », L’Information géographique, 2024/1/5.
• Gilles Lepesant (2022), Géographies des énergies - L'Europe dans le nouvel équilibre mondial, Hermann, Paris.
• Gilles Lepesant (2022), La politique énergétique européenne face à sa première crise, Dossiers du CERI, Juin 2022.