The oil crisis, lever or barrier for the development of a common European energy policy? The energy policy of the European Community at the time of the first oil shock.

This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the decision-making process at the time of the first oil shock. The European Commission emerges as an active actor in the development towards a common energy policy after 1967. The oil shock was not an accelerator for the processing of decisions on the current problems at common level. After the start of the oil shock, cooperation at supranational level was significantly minimised. The Commission, nevertheless, did not remain apathetic towards the oil problems. Moreover, the Energy Group of the Council surprisingly provided a forum for the discussion of possible common actions to counter the current oil problems. Third, the creation of this Energy Committee signified an important change within the European decision-making process. Fourth, the OECD had an important role as an actor in the European decision-making process on energy.