Energy Solidarity: Channelling and Restraining Legal Power in the Transition of the Energy Sector for a Successful European Green Deal

This article explores the application of the principle of energy solidarity in the EU's post-crisis energy law in light of its recognition by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its seminal OPAL judgment in July 2021. The article argues that EU secondary law has yet to unpack the full potential of the energy solidarity principle. So far, it remains strongly tied to security of supply. Despite first attempts, it has not yet been anchored in secondary legislation oriented towards the priorities of EU energy policy in the area of climate change mitigation. Given recent proceedings before and judgments of the CJEU, however, such an extension of the solidarity principle may only be a matter of time, although there is uncertainty as to the effect of this development: as a context-dependent principle, energy solidarity could reinforce, but also restrain, decarbonisation efforts of the Member States and the EU.