Abstract

Despite accounting for a significant share of global trade and the resulting interdependencies from it, energy governance remains largely fragmented and there is no global framework or agreement  defining  the  rules  of  energy  trade.  This  paper,  after  presenting  the  main  global and regional energy market developments, discusses the opportunities to ‘energise the TTIP’, i.e. to include a chapter dedicated to trade and cooperation in the sphere of energy. The shale revolution in the US, the ever-rising interconnectedness of energy  markets (recently proven by the disappearance of the ‘Asian gas premium’) and the EU’s quest to diversify its energy supplies  generally  sets  favourable  conditions  to  reinforce  energy  relations  between  the  EU and  the US.  The  question,  as  is  often  the  case,  is whether  there  is  sufficient  political  will  to tighten  relations  in  a  strategic  sphere  with  connotations  for  national  security  and sovereignty.