Energy, time for a European project
There is a question that European leaders should ask themselves frankly: how many of the current crises - from inflation to wars, from geopolitical instability to industrial competitiveness - have their roots in the lack of a true European energy policy? Common defence summits multiply, billions are discussed to rearm the continent, plans are drawn up to close the technology gap with the United States. But it would also be honest to remember that the war in Ukraine, as well as the tensions in Iran, are today difficult to resolve also because of energy.
Control of energy resources is not only a lever of geopolitical power, but also guarantees a position of strength at any negotiating table. It is clear that alongside investments in defence, therefore, Europe should consider investments to achieve its energy autonomy.
When foreign stock exchanges threatened the continent's financial sovereignty, Brussels responded with the Capital Markets Union project. With wars on Europe's doorstep, the Twenty-Seven opened the purse strings for common defence. When the technology gap with the big American platforms became abysmal, the Draghi Report sounded the alarm for a relaunch of investment in innovation and competitiveness. But that's not all: Draghi also recommended the creation of an 'Energy Union', but who followed it up?
A divided competence, an unfinished market
The starting point is legal, before being economic. European energy policy is a shared competence between the Union and the member states (Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU: the EU sets the objectives and rules of the internal market, the states retain the right to choose their own energy mix and manage their own resources. In theory, a reasonable balance; in practice, an inexhaustible source of conflict and inefficiency.
The mechanism that was supposed to address these imbalances is called 'Market Coupling' and is mainly based on Regulation (EU) 2019/943 , which is mandatory for all Member States to converge prices between countries and allow cheaper energy to flow where it costs more. This mechanism, however, only works up to the physical limit of the interconnection cables. When that capacity runs out - and in Italia it happens systematically at peak hours - markets decouple, prices diverge and the consumer continues to pay a structural premium higher than the European average.
