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The article examines how the caveat in Article 194(2) TFEU on Member States' right to determine the conditions for exploiting its energy resources affects the division of powers between the Union and the Member States to regulate the conditions for exploitation of their energy resources. In the background of the discussion is the question of whether the Union should be concerned with the complex and sometimes divergent rules that govern access to exploitation of energy resources in the Member States and asks whether the Union has powers under Article 194(2) TFEU to take action. The article also addresses the question of whether the caveat can be seen as a sign of increased resource nationalism - in the sense that states seek to maintain or reclaim control over the exploitation of their energy resources, or, whether the caveat simply reflects a balance already agreed upon in the Hydrocarbon Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a normative framework for assessing the role of the national administrative courts in reviewing regulatory decisions involving complex legal and economic assessments in the energy sector. It elaborates in a detailed way the requirements that follow from the EU law principle of effective legal protection that should be respected by the national courts. By way of illustration, it assesses an important judgment of the highest administrative court for energy cases in the Netherlands - the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (hereafter: CBB) - in light of the principle of effective legal protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU started to develop its own Arctic policy in 2008. One of the three main objectives of this policy is the promotion of sustainable use of Arctic resources. "Sustainability" was also a focus of the 2011 resolution of the European Parliament as a guiding principle in developing European policies toward the Arctic. Against this background, this article investigates the question of whether the EU meets its respective objective - sustainability - in regard to the development of Arctic hydrocarbon resources. The article contrasts the development of the EU's overall policy toward Arctic mineral resources with specific EU measures and examines the EU's capacity to influence sustainable Arctic hydrocarbon resource development. The article also elaborates on specific questions related to the EU's energy policy and the development of Arctic hydrocarbon resources in recent years as well as on the EU's dependency on oil and gas imports and respective tendencies to conclude on the aforementioned questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]