European Union Activities and the Challenge to the Security of Its Energy Supply

The European Union (EU) currently imports around 50% of the energy it consumes. The security of energy supply has recently become one of the priorities of the EU’s agenda. Faced with this challenge, the EU is developing an integrated approach based, on the one hand, on internal policies aimed at promoting energy efficiency, renewable sources and an internal energy market, and, on the other hand, on external policies aimed at diversifying the energy supply and creating a regulated framework in the context of EU external relations. The purpose of this article is to analyze and assess these actions. Moreover it shows the extent to which, faced with this non-conventional threat, the EU plays a role as a sui generis actor, transposing on the international scene its model based on dialogue, cooperation and constructive interdependence.