The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of smart grids in the European Union (EU) as a way forward to reach sustainable energy. It does so by assessing the energy security, regulatory, and social and ethical aspects of smart grids in the EU. The article represents a significant...

This chapter argues that it is necessary to develop effective trade policy instruments for European Union (EU) energy security to identify the existing gaps in energy trade governance. The idea is to develop a concept of ‘governance by design' through the interplay of various legal regimes and...

A major aim of the international community is to decarbonize the economy. With renewables, international trade in energy is likely to increase. In turn, the international trading system can be a major vehicle towards moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. To this end, it can provide...

This chapter provides an analysis of natural gas as a source to enhance energy security in the European Union (EU). To set the scene, section 2 gives an overview of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum as an example the gas oligopoly in today's market. Section 3 shows the basics of natural gas...

This book examines the status of the energy transition in the European Union (EU). It provides a thorough analysis of energy decentralization in the EU. It discusses why it is in the EU's interest to decentralize its energy markets and analyzes the situation in several EU member states. The book...

This timely book shows how the creation of a European Energy Union might be an effective and viable solution to the energy security problems that the European Union (EU) is facing. The aim is to make it easier to trade energy inside the EU. The EU currently has to rely on energy-rich countries...

This article is an analysis of relevant Intergovernmental and Host Government Agreements on oil and gas transit pipelines in several parts of the world. The following questions serve as the basis for the analysis: 1. To what extent can common principles and regional specificities be derived from...

Energy security remains a vital issue for the European Union (EU), even more so in the wake of the events that unfolded in early 2014 in Ukraine. The EU´s already fragile position in the international energy arena in terms of supply security appears to be more uncertain than ever after...

This paper examines the system of law and governance of international trade in unconventional energy sources. Currently, there is no cohesive governance for global energy trade. On the contrary, governance of energy trade mainly arises by default, rather than design, through the ad hoc interplay...