In person event
The rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape has introduced a climate of intensifying competition, increasing protectionism and heightened securitisation. These conditions will be decisive for countries’ and regions’ energy and climate policy as well as their competitiveness – and the EU is no exception. The EU needs to reduce unwarranted energy dependencies and secure leadership in clean technology development. This includes ensuring access to the critical raw materials needed to produce these technologies, as well as expanding and protecting critical (energy) infrastructure. Moreover, to reduce the influence of adversaries and combat climate change, it is key that countries beyond the EU also continue their own efforts to accelerate the energy transition. Yet, with the nature of international relations becoming increasingly transactional, Europe’s external engagement will require a more intricate balancing-act between strategic considerations and their (potential) trade-offs.
The current EU external energy engagement strategy from 2022 has left much to be desired, failing to adequately respond to the dynamic and competitive environment. Embedded in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this strategy has adopted a short-term, transactional approach to external energy cooperation and focused on mostly reactive measures and policies. As such, it has been largely unable to pull off a credible and more forward-looking diplomatic approach in line with the EU’s strategic interests in the global energy transition.
The Political Guidelines of the European Commission (EC), underpinned by the Draghi report, suggest a potentially decisive and structural shift in this regard. These changes will be driven by industrial and trade policies aimed at bolstering European competitiveness, as evident in the Competitiveness Compass and Clean Industrial Deal. Moreover, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen has been tasked explicitly with ‘strengthening Europe’s energy diplomacy’, and President von der Leyen recently initiated a high-level ‘Global Energy Transition Forum’ at the G20 – hinting at a possible change in the nature and direction of the EU’s external strategy. This comes on top of the Global Gateway Forum, where the EU aims to liaise better with the demands of partner countries in the energy transition, already responsible for half of the flagship investments.
Whereas coherent and synchronised responses by the EU are not always easy to orchestrate, they have become a geopolitical necessity in an age where nations link issues in increasingly transactional ways and become more assertive in doing so. This requires clear positioning on dilemmas that the EU is confronted with in its external energy efforts. In the wake of changing geopolitical winds across the globe, two strategic considerations will be particularly critical in guiding Europe’s energy security and diplomacy:
- Managing competition with China and the US over clean technologies and critical (energy) resources while maintaining trade relations and partnerships.
- Balancing economic and industrial security with global interdependencies and third countries’ interests/needs in the energy transition.
This roundtable is invitation-only and held under Chatham House Rules; bringing together EU policymakers, industry representatives and experts to explore these questions and discuss how the EU can develop a coherent, strategic approach to its external energy engagement.
Organised in collaboration with:
