A Theoretical Framework for Energy Security Through Discourse

With regards to the claim that the European Parliament is too weak (the second of Weiler's standard version claims), Moravcsik (2002; 2003) emphasises the fact that during the last twenty years, the European Parliament is the institution which have experienced the most reforms, regarding its increase of powers, compare to the Council and the Commission. The latter argument is in fact accurate because ever since the Single European Act (1986), the European Parliament gains more and more power by reforms in every signed Treaty (Moravcsik, 2003, p. 7). Despite that, however, the Parliament is still considered to be weak compared to the other institutions, as it will be analysed later in the essay.

The structure and formation of the EU executive has proved to be a major debate over the years. The major question which continues to arise is: Should the EU have a dual executive where policy making is divided amongst the Commission and the Council? Or should the EU have a single institution where either the Commission or the Council has a more dominant and superior leadership role? Simon Hix defines this dual executive model as ‘a separation of powers’ (Hix and Hoyland 2011). In order to understand whether this separation is good or bad we must outline the power each institution has and inevitably their role in the formation of policy-making in the European Executive. Over the course of this essay I shall discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a dual executive model on an EU level.

Part of the exceptional nature of the EU stems from the notion that nothing like it has ever been attempted successfully before. The European Union is an international institution with a single market and shared currency. It strives to maintain singular goals and make its way towards being an “ever closer union”. Today, the European Union has expanded to include twenty-eight member countries with an influence that reaches every continent. This institution has had an impressive history, but it has reached a point of concern. The golden years which held high hopes of a united supranational Union are long over. The EU faces destructive problems today, which could ultimately end their impressive era of cooperation. The Union has come

There is no single body that can be described as the Union’s legislature. Both the Council and the Parliament play significant roles in the process. The European Parliament is frequently accused of democratic deficit. In particular, there are two separate issues to consider: one relates to its composition and another is connected to the engagement of citizens in Parliament. First of all, the European Parliament initially consisted of delegates designated by the Parliaments of Member States, but since 1979, it has been directly elected by the people according to the national electoral system of each Member State. Undoubtedly, that reform helped to overcome the democratic deficit to some extent. Nevertheless, the European Parliament is often criticized of failing to generate much commitment and

In this assignment I will be assessing the democratic accountability of the European Union. I will begin by briefly describing the institutions, their functions, compositions and discuss how they work as check and balance system to ensure democratic accountability further to look on to how laws are made and what they are In order to establish whether or not the EU is in fact answerable to its citizens.

The present midterm exam has as purpose to evaluate, comparing and contrasting how the Energy Policy Act (2005) got passed and signed, using as a guidance Kingdon (1995) and Smiths & Larimer’s (2013) concepts about agenda setting and decision making in public policy.

Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the most important political thinkers of his time, and a great scholar in comparative federalism, in his “Democracy in America” mentions how “old Europe” could learn from “young America” regarding the enactment of the concept of federalism, particularly in terms of “the problem of legitimacy in the context of multi-level governance” (Nicolaidis & Howse, 2001). It is in this aspect, that the EU must avoid its statist approach to sovereignty and must keep on the track of the subsidiarity principle, i.e., “the allocation or the use of authority within a political order where there is no unitary sovereign” (Nicolaidis & Howse, 2001. Chapter 4.) This is, despite the fear of a loss of credit,

From a macro scope it is evident the EU is strong promoter democracy and has deeply embedded democratic features, however, as Peterson and Shackleton point out that “understanding politics always begins with understanding institutions not at least the EU”. Taking this advice the essay will seek to examine the two main legislative bodies within the EU,

Scholarly interests on the EU have not been confined to democratic issues disregarding its importance, as the unique and thus complicated institutional identity of the EU also induced major theoretical

In this essay I shall attempt to analyse whether the separation of powers is respected in the attribution of competences within the European Union.

Article Synopsis: “The new Geopolitics of Energy” is an overall synopsis of how energy is linked to geopolitics, and how the United States has emerged over the past decade as a major hydrocarbon producer and exporter, which has resulted in the changing the nations posture globally. Of note, Pascual highlights the point that the U.S. has found a new borne power that it can wield geopolitically, and can even further its international objectives. However, it must wield that control very carefully and with finesse, because if done poorly could have far reaching ramifications. Managing this power will not be easy and may take some formidable resources, and the U.S. is not well versed in the unique way that OPEC and the major oil producing nations conduct business. He stresses that energy markets and foreign policy are not static and that the U.S. has to fully understand the intricacies of both.

First, it is important to examine the readings regarding the European Union’s foreign policy. Here are some general explanations on the arguments from the following readings about the EU and its role in the 21st century. Kagan argues that the European Union will not “run” the 21st century. His reasoning is that although the EU is an economic power, it lacks

Geopolitics has offered changes, the analysis reveals that relationships between energy and nations whose frame work involves strategies and doctrines, contributes to the order in which countries policies operate (lecture 1). The impact energy has on the domestic and foreign policy is

Nowadays, energy security has turned out to be a very important area under discussions regarding foreign policy ("Energy Security: Advancements in Cooperation in the East Asian Region", 2011). The reliance on foreign energy turns into a compulsion with the globalization of the trade and industry of any country that does not possess adequate resources for its engine to continue working. However, such sort of energy-reliance shall be a combination of the "energy aid" from affluent countries and the domestic industrial sector and consumer demands. For that reason, this modus operandi has set a number of countries in motion in order to search for the different energy suppliers beyond their areas (Barbieri).

electricity and gas across national borders will be improved, increasing competition. The road toward the creation of a single EU energy market, however, has been anything but easy. Many national markets are dominated by a single enterprise, often a former state owned utility. Electricitie de France, for example, has an 87 percent share of