Where is the self-criticism in the EU?

The EU faces an energy emergency.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
14 October 2022 Friday 18:33
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Where is the self-criticism in the EU?

The EU faces an energy emergency. So there is no other choice but to focus on weathering the winter and trying to mitigate the economic and social impacts that will probably persist during 2023. Without a doubt, it is reasonable to prioritize the search for solutions in the very short term, although this does not justify certain improvisations that they put at risk investments and industries that are key to the future of the energy transition. And even more so when, with regard to medium and long-term solutions, Brussels states that this transition must be accelerated.

Certainly, there would be little or nothing to object to this last point, if it were not for the fact that the EU is avoiding any self-criticism about its share of responsibility in the current crisis. Not all our ills are attributable to the war in Ukraine, so there are well-founded doubts as to whether the foundations of the energy transition in Europe are solid enough for the aforementioned acceleration to be more than just wishful thinking.

Too often, claims and reality do not go hand in hand in the EU. For example, for years, Brussels has been developing the concept of strategic autonomy. This refers to the ability of the Twenty-seven to act autonomously, that is, without depending on other countries, in vital areas ranging from defense to the economy and democratic values. Obviously, the concept also includes the issue of energy, very particularly that of energy security. But what is the real situation of the strategic autonomy of the EU in relation to the manufacture of solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles, two of the basic technologies in the energy transition? The answer could not be more worrying.

In the case of solar panels, it turns out that the average manufacturing capacity in Europe is around 2.8% of the world total, while its demand is close to 16.8%. Something that contrasts with the numbers of the first manufacturer, China, which are around 84% and 36.4%, respectively. They will think that it is just a matter of opening factories in a hurry. But it's not like that. Because Europe does not control the supply chain at all, clearly dominated by China. Thus, the manufacturing percentages (referring to the global total) of the various components that make up this chain are: polycrystalline silicon (8% Europe versus 79.4% China), wafers (0.5% vs. 96.8%), cells (0.6% vs. 85.1%) and panels (2.8% vs. 74.7%). And if we talk about the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles, it turns out that Chinese companies currently monopolize 56% of the global market, followed by the South Koreans (26%) and the Japanese (10%), with the particularity that the Asian giant controls most of the links in the production chain.

Sometimes the question arises: does the EU really want to lead the energy transition? Or is it just an eminently political speech?