Strategic and Market-Oriented Approaches to Energy Policy in Policy Documents of the Czech Republic and European Union

The EU has been gradually increasing its emphasis on a common approach to energy security among its members in the last couple of years, and these member states have had to take this tendency into account when developing their own approach to energy policy. Additionally, both EU and its members have been forced to react to several challenges regarding energy security. Reactions and tendencies within energy policies can be assessed on the basis of theoretical approaches that can not only clarify reasons for implementing specific tools and procedures, but also can help to anticipate future development. This article is focused on the energy policy of the Czech Republic and the European Union from the perspectives of strategic as well as market-oriented approaches, which are the two dominant theoretical approaches in this field of study. The aim is to identify how these approaches are reflected in policy documents on both levels during the selected period of time (2004-2012) and what it means in terms of energy policy coordination within the EU.