Resurrection and Reconstitution of Energy Supply Security in the EU

Energy supply security and its resurrection through the EU's increasing dependency on energy imports reveal important issues to reconsider in theoretical studies and policy debates of the EU. This paper examines the socialization process of the EU member states and their consequent preference change in the creation of an internal energy market. The goal of creating an internal energy market and fulfilling the adoption of the 3rd Gas Directive by 2014 is essential to enhance energy supply security for the EU. However, there has been considerable observed variance among the EU member states’ support for an internal energy market during the negotiation process surrounding the previous energy directives between 1998 and 2009. Thus, this earlier period forms a benchmark for comparing preference change of selected EU member states since 2009. Given the material and national security interests of individual states in the energy sector, it is a hard case to consider the influence of domestic structures, ideas and materials interests in creating the internal energy market. This paper addresses the question of how preference change of member states has been constituted by ideational forces, if any, beyond the rational calculations of stakeholders in the socialization process for creating the EU’s internal energy market.