Energy Law in Europe

The energy sector in Europe has changed rapidly over the last few years under the influence of trends towards globalization, liberalization, competition, de-monopolization, and strengthening of regulation in the field.

The new edition of this book builds on the success of the first in providing an updated overview of these important developments at both international and European levels, covering the most important principles of international law of relevance to the energy sector.

A chapter dedicated to comparison of legal developments across Europe addresses the increasingly important question of whether we are heading towards an international energy market.

New chapters on European Union External Energy Relations and Standard Agreements in European Energy Trade highlight growing cooperation in the energy field with major producers such as Russia, and the standards for trading energy in an integrated geographical market, including analysis of the product markets, as well as the relevant legal instruments and master agreements. The book also focuses on the implementation of the significant Energy Directives, and the constitutional and regulatory framework in the key energy-producing jurisdictions in the EU: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The national coverage emphasises trans-border collaboration by examining bilateral and multilateral cooperation within the context of the European Union.

There is also updated analysis of developments in these countries in every energy sector, including oil, gas, nuclear energy, and in response to the Kyoto protocol, to renewables and emissions, with the extent of coverage determined by the resource base of each country.