Since its founding in 1959, the Institute for European Politics (IEP) has been a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of European integration.
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Energy and Climate Policy: A new project for Europe
Energy and climate related topics have been prominent on the European agenda for some time. The further integration of the internal market for electricity and gas, the promotion of renewable energies as well as research and technology have received growing attention by European institutions. Moreover, the impacts of global climate change create common problems for European citizens which call for joint action. The interactions between these complex processes present a variety of new challenges for the European Union.
At the European Council summits in Hampton Court 2005 and in Brussels in March 2007 under German EU presidency, European heads of state and government made far-reaching decisions aiming to ensure a competitive, sustainable and secure European energy policy in the long term. At the same time, the European Council agreed on ambitious targets for 2020 in the area of greenhouse gas reductions, promotion of renewable energies and energy efficiency. The Energy Action Plan 2007–2009 served as a first guideline for how to achieve these goals. At the same time, a new title on a common energy policy was integrated into the Lisbon Treaty, for the first time explicitly granting the EU competencies in this policy field.
To follow up on these developments, the Institut für Europäische Politik intensively studies this young policy field. The project’s focus lies on the dissemination of knowledge about contents and processes of a EU energy and climate policy. In addition, the evaluation of progress within this policy field is constantly covered. Finally, the interactions between European institutions are followed closely.