Challenges and Roadblocks in Achieving Energy Security in Europe : What is blocking the development of energy security in Europe?

European energy security serves as a vital pillar of European prosperity, exerting substantial influence on the region's economy and citizens' day-to-day lives. This paper undertakes an analytical exploration of the dynamics shaping European energy security, invoking the theoretical frameworks of liberal intergovernmentalism, neofunctionalism, and liberalism, with a particular emphasis on the former two. Three hypotheses are proposed to ascertain the extent to which facets of liberal intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism can elucidate the evolution or obstruction of European energy security. The first two hypotheses, rooted in liberal intergovernmental theory, investigate the impacts of domestic lobbying on the determination of national energy interests and assess the implications of national interests and power relationships on intergovernmental negotiations, respectively. The third hypothesis, deriving from neofunctionalist theory, scrutinizes the role and potency of supranational European institutions, along with the consequences of their reinforcement, on the integration of European nations in the energy sector. The findings reveal a potent influence of domestic lobbying on a country's energy interests, yet these cannot be wholly attributed to this factor alone. It was also discerned that intergovernmental negotiations within the EU are considerably swayed and even impeded by national interests. Thus, it is incorrect to attribute the stagnation of European energy security's further development to supranational institutions; rather, the blame falls on member states' blockades, which hinder and obstruct collective energy sector initiatives.