The EU as a Regional Actor: Energy Security and Climate Change

The EU enacts its security policy on different levels and through various frameworks and structures of cooperation. One of these levels is the regional dimension (i.e. within the Union) where the EU acts as a regional security actor. This paper puts forward an analysis of the regional dimension of energy security and climate change1 by assessing (i) the institutional dimension underpinning this issue, (ii) the EU’s policy output in the field of energy security and climate change, and (iii) an evaluation of the Union’s institutional and output dimension. This ‘check-up’ of EU policy through an assessment of its coherence, current levels of accountability, and the legitimacy of EU action enables a reflection on the merits of EU policy in the security field.