Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Decarbonisation, Security and Open Strategic Autonomy in EU Energy Policy: Investigated Through the Lens of Policy Intervention Points in Sustainability Transitions

Increasing concerns over European security and competitiveness during the 2020s have changed the policy landscape in the European Union (EU). In the energy domain, this has meant that the decarbonisation objective and corresponding policy measures put in place by the EU Green Deal have been contrasted with new objectives for improved energy security and open strategic autonomy (OSA). Such developments potentially hinder implications on the rollout of the Green Deal and the advancement of sustainability transition more broadly. OSA has been described as pursuits to reduce the EU’s external dependences in critical sectors (Miró 2023) and to seek openness while being resilient and assertive (Schmitz & Seidl 2023). This conceptualisation is very broad, thereby accommodating political buy-in from diverse actors. In turn, the EU Green Deal has advanced sustainability transitions. Transitions are urgently required large-scale shifts in socio-technical systems to become more environmentally and socially sustainable but can be hindered by sudden disruptions or ‘shocks’ in the broader global context, such as wars, conflicts and pandemics. Transitions research has led to calls for transition policies that stimulate the acceleration of new more sustainable systems, phasing out of the old, and take a broad cross-domain policy coordination perspective. This paper aims to identify and analyse the policy synergies, trade-offs and tensions between decarbonisation, security and strategic autonomy from the perspective of EU energy policy, focusing on the policymaking of the European Commission. To do this, it reviews key policy documents issued during 2019-2024 and analyses 15 in-depth interviews, covering civil servants in directorate generals (DGs) of the European Commission, politicians associated with the European Parliament and the Committee of Regions, energy industry organisations, non-governmental organisations and academic researchers. The results are analysed by applying the policy interventions framework of sustainability transition studies (Kanger et al. 2020; Lazarevic et al. 2022) and elaborating it to examine the interface of sustainability transitions and OSA. We use the findings to indicate opportunities for the better alignment of achieving just sustainability transitions, OSA and energy security. The analysis is still in progress, but early interviews indicate the presence of synergies between pursuing OSA and advancing the production of cleaner technologies and energy efficiency in the EU – many policy developments having taken place recently (e.g. Net-Zero Industries Act and Critical Raw Materials Act). Potential tensions link to protective policies that limit the import of technologies that could accelerate sustainability transitions in Europe and the differing approaches taken in different DGs with potential coordination problems. Kanger, L., et al. (2020). ‘Six policy intervention points for sustainability transitions: A conceptual framework and a systematic literature review’, Res.Pol. 49/7:104072. Lazarevic, D., et al. (2022). ‘Circular economy policies and their transformative outcomes: The transformative intent of Finland’s strategic policy programme’, JCLPR 379:134892. Miró, J. (2023). ‘Responding to the global disorder: the EU’s quest for open strategic autonomy’, Global Society, 23/3:315–35. Schmitz, L.; Seidl, T. (2023). ‘As Open as Possible, as Autonomous as Necessary: Understanding the Rise of Open Strategic Autonomy in EU Trade Policy’, JCMS 61/3:834–52.