Dynamics and drivers of shale gas development in three European countries: can a European policy be imagined? Actuelles de l'Ifri, November 2013

After having assessed the existing legislative framework appropriateness regarding climate and environmental impacts of shale gas development in Europe, and having noted some improvements that could be proposed when using the hydraulic fracturing technique, the debate is now shifting to address the issue of the good governance level. To what extent a European initiative could be more effective or comprehensive than national legislation? In particular, it remains unclear whether a common EU policy that goes beyond environmental and climate measures can be built to regulate the industrial exploitation of shale gas in Europe.

However, before talking about a common European shale gas policy, it is necessary to look at the status of projects and initiatives at the national level. It appears that only three states have begun the process of developing shale gas resources at large scale, Denmark, Poland and the United Kingdom. Indeed, other countries with significant resources have banned exploration or hydraulic fracturing technique (France, Bulgaria), suspended the activity (Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic), or have just begun to consider operations (Romania, Spain).Therefore, an analysis of the characteristics of shale gas development in these three countries can actually give a picture of the on-going process of developing large-scale shale gas in Europe and assess whether a common European framework would be more suitable than the current national legislations.

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