Which Energy Security Union? An experiment on public preferences for energy union alternatives in 5 western European countries

Abstract

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caught the European Union (EU) off-balance, leading some to propose a relaunch of the EU's Energy Union. However, the political feasibility of such programmes remains disputed, and any such policy design is inherently multidimensional with respect to scope, governance, source of financing and other dimensions. To determine public support for energy security cooperation, we conduct a (first ever) conjoint experiment on public support for alternative energy union designs, fielded among a highly representative sample of the French, German, Italian, Dutch and Spanish populations in November 2022. This multidimensional conjoint experiment allows us to determine the causal link between (hypothetical) policy features of potential energy solidarity pacts, and public support or opposition to such policy. Our results show that policy packages receiving the most support have higher levels of ambition, joint EU-level governance, joint purchases and procurement. All-in-all our results reveal considerable cross-border support for energy solidarity, indicating that a compromise policy is feasible and publicly supported. Furthermore, our results suggest that European citizens are willing to support the creation of joint institutions to face issues of common concern, suggesting that major crises open windows of opportunity to re-shape European integration.