Trend Energy security and industrial competitiveness merge into one policy agenda

Summary

The war turned Europe's heavy reliance on a single energy supplier into a recognised security risk. Cutting Russian imports improved security of supply, but it also left the EU more sensitive to prices and conditions in the global LNG market and in a few alternative supplier countries. Industrial energy prices stayed well above those of major competitors, weighing on output and investment in energy-intensive industries and pushing energy to the centre of industrial competitiveness policy. The EU's focus accordingly moved beyond simply replacing Russian supplies toward demand reduction, joint purchasing, grid expansion, renewables and deeper market integration to damp price volatility structurally. The report concludes that the war's lasting significance lies less in lower Russian imports than in the fusion of energy security, decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness into a single policy framework.