Energy Community and European Common Aviation Area: Two Tales of One Story

Abstract

The European Union (EU) conducts a multi-faceted policy in South-eastern Europe. Concentrating on two dimensions of the EU policy in the region, energy and aviation, the article considers the development of the two relevant regional initiatives, the Energy Community and the European Common Aviation Area. The first intends to create an integrated energy market in electricity and natural gas, by bringing together the twenty-seven EU Member States with nine partners from South-eastern Europe. The second is expected to create an integrated aviation market of thirty-six countries and five hundred million people, governed by the EU standards of aviation services' market, safety, security, Air Traffic Management and environment protection. While recognizing the existence of common features shared by the two initiatives, the analysis purports to identify the special characteristics of the two reform processes instigated by the EU, in order to highlight the existing differences and to shed light on the underlying explanatory factors. Emphasis is put on the relationship between the ideational foundation of the two reform processes and the material interests of the actors involved in them.