What was meant to be Europe’s coherent transformation toward sustainability has, in practice, become a maze of overlapping regulations, conflicting objectives, and competing national interests. This has led the energy system in Europe today to become extremely complex. Confusing the system even further is the reduction of Russian gas and hydrocarbons, which has redrawn the map of dependencies and rewritten the rules of engagement. Investors and partners who still see opportunity in Europe often struggle to interpret what exactly needs to be done to find their place in this market.
That is where the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC), taking place in Athens today and tomorrow, has proven its unique value. P-TEC is an annual gathering of public and private energy leaders held by the US Department of Energy in partnership with Central and Eastern European countries and the Atlantic Council. It is more than just a forum for exchange—it is becoming a compass. On a continent governed by directives and evolving standards, P-TEC can serve as a guide through the labyrinth, helping partners understand not only the current rules but also how these rules might evolve.
Europe’s current regulatory architecture often reflects good intentions undermined by practical contradictions. The European Investment Bank, for instance, no longer finances natural gas projects, even in places like Moldova or the Western Balkans—regions still heavily dependent on Russian supply. This leaves them in a geopolitical dead end, precisely when diversification should be a top priority.
The European Union’s Methane Emissions Regulation (MER) illustrates how the EU’s well-intended climate ambition can sometimes create operational uncertainty. Approved in 2024, MER includes measures to reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel operations. Even large and experienced companies, however, struggle to interpret what compliance with the policy means in practice—from methane reporting and certification to national implementation pathways. This experience has shown that Europe’s energy transition is not only about technology, but also about regulatory literacy. Understanding the system has become as critical as investing in it.
Similarly, the EU’s inconsistent treatment of nuclear power—recognized as a zero-carbon source, yet excluded by some from green financing frameworks—continues to divide member states and deter investors.
Such contradictions do not make Europe greener; they make it more fragile. They illustrate the gap between ambition and execution—between a decarbonization agenda that aspires to lead the world and a market reality that too often punishes pragmatism.
P-TEC’s mission, therefore, should be twofold.
First, it should continue to act as a translator—helping US and regional partners understand the dense network of European rules, taxonomies, and climate instruments. Second, and more importantly, it should evolve into an architect of the next stage: a space where transatlantic cooperation contributes to a more coherent, realistic, and resilient European framework.
This evolution requires a shared strategic vision focused on connectivity. The North–South energy corridor, linking the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas, remains the backbone of regional resilience. Expanding interconnections and ensuring market interoperability are not just technical goals but instruments of sovereignty. Here, the United States can add real value through investment and project expertise that turn political declarations into results.
At the same time, P-TEC can help demonstrate that much can already be achieved within the existing system. The recent success in enabling gas deliveries to Moldova under EU market principles showed that rules can be instruments of empowerment, not paralysis. The rules are changing, but not quickly or deeply enough: gas infrastructure and new nuclear builds remain trapped in a slow evolution.
P-TEC provides an opportunity for Europe to accelerate needed change and create momentum with an eye toward the 2026 Three Seas Initiative Summit in Croatia. This shift requires the recognition that the real opportunity lies not in creating new institutions but in enhancing interoperability among those that already exist, including P-TEC and the Three Seas Initiative. These critical platforms share the same DNA: regional integration, diversification, and partnership with the United States. Together, they can become Europe’s version of a transatlantic “operating system”—a modular architecture that balances climate ambition with competitiveness and security.
To achieve this, both sides of the Atlantic must invest in more than infrastructure. They must invest in regulatory literacy—the ability to navigate, interpret, and align policy frameworks that increasingly define who can build what and where. This is not a bureaucratic detail; it is a strategic necessity.
Europe’s future energy landscape will be shaped not only by new technologies, but also by new understandings. P-TEC stands at the intersection of both. It can guide the evolution of Europe’s energy operating system—one that is pragmatic, open to innovation, and resilient enough to serve both sides of the Atlantic. In a continent of rules, that may produce the most valuable export of all: clarity.
Michał Kurtyka is a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center.
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Image: Athens (Constantinos Kollias, Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-concrete-building-under-blue-sky-during-daytime-yqBvJJ8jGBQ)
