EU Energy Law and Policy Issues

This third volume of EU Energy Law and Policy Issues presents an overview of some of the most recent developments taking place in the EU energy sector at a time when the Third Energy Package is likely to be or has been implemented in the EU Member States. In this respect, the reader will find a number of contributions which offer detailed and critical views on some of the main issues tackled by the Third Energy Package. Aside from this, the relationship between sector specific regulation and the rules of general competition law is examined in the second section of the book. This part also contains particular contributions on access regimes in gas and electricity markets as well as an innovating analysis on the methods for allocating allowances under the EU Emissions trading scheme and the interaction of such methods with EU state aid rules.

Just like the previous volumes of the book, section III offers a deep insight into the external aspects of EU energy policy. Accordingly, the role of the Lisbon Treaty in promoting EU energy policy in the international arena is scrutinized in addition to the most recent evolutions on the topical issue of the Energy Charter Treaty. This section is completed with a daring contribution about the need to adopt a comprehensive theory of legal harmonization between the EU and third partners, which is presented using the specific case of the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue.

Last but not least, some fundamental issues regarding the environmental aspects of EU Energy policy undergo an in-depth study in the final section of the book. Not only is the legal regime of energy efficiency in energy-related products examined, but also the issue of carbon constraining policies under WTO law. Finally, the electricity’s industry viewpoint on the 2020 targets rounds off this third volume of EU Energy Law and Policy Issues with judicious comments.

This book will surely prove to be an essential piece of reading for lawyers, legal advisers, academics or students engaged in the field of energy law.

With contributions by Nicole Ahner, Daniel Behn, Andrei Belyi, Henrik Bjørnebye, Jakub Handrlica, Adrien de Hauteclocque, Thomas Deruytter, Wouter Geldhof, Silke Goldberg, Michaël Hunt, Britta Lewendel, Tom Maes, Kathleen Mertens, Cécile Musialski, Christian Pielow, Nicola Rega, Tatiana Romanova, Kim Talus, Caroline Van den bergh and Frederik Vandendriessche.