The European Union as an Energy Actor

Abstract

This article focuses on the relationship between the EU actorness and the internal and external dimension of energy policy in an effort to conceptualize the EU energy actorness. In this respect, the main goals of the article are two. The first is to identify the basic aspects of EU actorness and to define their interrelationship in energy policy. The second is to conceptualize individual criteria of the external and internal dimensions of EU energy actorness and to analyze the possibilities of their use in the context of the discussion between conventional constructivism and rationalism. The intention is to create a modified framework incorporating the internal and external dimension of the EU’s energy actorness, operationalized by a set of criteria that can be used to analyze the EU energy policy and its relations. The article should contribute to understanding the issue of the EU’s actorness and to deepening the debate on energy policy.

Keywords

• European Union
• actorness
• energy policy
• conventional constructivism
• rationalism