EU''s "Institutional" Energy Diplomacy

As part of a wider research project which aims at framing EU''s "institutional diplomacy” in the areas of energy, environment and climate change, this paper analyses EU''s foreign policy strategy in the field of energy security. The latter, in fact, has not only a domestic component, which includes energy efficiency and the setting up of a well functioning internal energy market. It has also a very important external dimension, which is linked to access to energy resources and to stable and affordable prices. In more detail, in the coming pages the process of institution building led by the EU in the energy sector is reviewed, stressing how fostering cooperation through institutions has become a key element of EU’s energy security strategy. To do so, this paper focus primarily on European efforts vis-à-vis South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and pays particular attention to the set up of institutional frameworks such as the Energy Community and the Energy Charter Treaty. Some attention is also given to the development of development of European projects such as the Nabucco pipeline as well as to less renowned transnational initiatives such as INOGATE and TRACEA.