INTRODUCTION

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Energy Union will require, of course, action by individual Member States, the EU government bodies must act in no uncertain terms to set sounds and criteria. Europe must face two general issues within the energy sphere: the lack of diversification in energy supply and its dependence on Russian production (European Commission, 2015). Dependence on Russian natural gas has led, over the last decade, the increase in prices for consumers in much of eastern and central Europe (EIA, 2014). In addition, the lack of adequate infrastructure, has prevented Member States sharing or exchange of excess electricity and natural gas (European Commission, 2015). These are the factors that originally led to the former Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, to propose the Energy Union (FleishmanHillard, 2015). As a result, the EU Member States, together with tips and committees, have asked since 2002, achieving at least a 10% interconnection between the European energy infrastructure. Over the past thirteen years, the interconnection requirements of 10% were reiterated but little progress has been made. Given the maturity of the original proposal, the most recent plan, released in February 2015, once again sets a target of 10% to be implemented by 2020 (FleishmanHillard, 2015). To achieve this, each country has to show that its infrastructure is built up to 10% within the global network. These interconnections are only part of the wider package of energy Union that seeks to bring Europe towards a more efficient and effective future and less based on coal. Initiatives such as the Trans- European Energy (TEN-E) networks, in combination with the Priority Interconnection Plan (PIP) and other projects such as the plan for the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection (BEMIP), have demonstrated desire to bring the European energy network to new level. However, actual progress has not kept pace with the rhetoric since twelve countries are still below the established level of interconnection (European Commission, 2015). First of TEN-E, which have set a ceiling of three and a half years for permission controls, it took an average of ten to thirteen years to obtain a permit for the grant of new infrastructure projects. The new guidelines have proven to be an effective policy for the development of energy infrastructure (European Commission, 2015). Nevertheless, these initiatives lack of compliance mechanisms to ensure the completion of projects in a timely manner. There has been significant progress with some countries that have passed the energy interconnection level base (10%) but, according to EU estimates, the three countries will remain below the 10% to reach the target date for 2020. This projection is a lack of unity in the proposal for the energy Union. 4
This ambitious project will remain a dream if the institutions involved are able to demonstrate its intention to exercise strong leadership and an ability to quickly meet the needs of individual Member States, which are struggling to meet the objectives of the Energy Union, in particular when the non-fulfillment of their commitments is highly predictable. According to the European Commission "A European approach is aimed at reducing costs and increasing the security of energy supplies, compared to the individual national programs" (European Commission, 2015). Just as happened with the financial standards imposed on individual members, it has been difficult to maintain a clear and coherent energy policy. Energy policy outlined in a higher and wider European level must be able to be reconciled with twenty-eight separate legal frameworks within which the application of the regulations can be inconsistent and unpredictable. Recognizing the opacity of the energy status, the European Commission, in its report Energy Union, said: "We must overcome the current fragmented system, characterized by a lack of coordination of national policies, by market barriers and by geographical areas isolated from the energy point of view "(European Commission, 2015). With geographically isolated areas, lack of cooperation, and different regulatory standards, the EU is not currently structured to ensure synchrony within its Member States. The integration of the concerns of individual countries' policies with a regional plan, will be the key to success for the Energy Union. OBJECTIVES MISALIGNED: ENVIRONMENT VS. EFFICIENCY Renewable energy investment is a central theme of energy Union that was announced both as a tool and as a final objective of the project. As the European Commission states in its report Energy Union, "a Union resilient energy, articulated around an ambitious climate policy, would provide EU consumers - households and businesses - safe energy, sustainable and competitive affordable "(European Commission, 2015). However, this ambitious climate policy, creates a dichotomy between efficiency and environmental protection which is manifested in the implementation of policies. The shift from coal and oil to natural gas increases the efficiency and reduces the environmental impact (EIA, 2015, Downey, 2012). Natural gas produces about half of the carbon pollution than coal (EIA, 2015). The improvement in natural gas production and distribution would further promote the efficiency while reducing, emissions of carbon 5
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INTRODUCTION

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