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European energy security has recently emerged as an important topic of scholarly attention. Many studies have scrutinised the political and institutional innovations triggered by the establishment of the European Union internal energy market and external energy policy. However, the literature indicates a particularly striking gap between growing research and concept development, and only recently have efforts been made to analyse this current dynamic more accurately. By focussing on the security of gas supply and liquefied natural gas development in France, Italy and Spain, and extending the model of the catalytic state to the energy-security realm, this article contributes to the empirical and conceptual debate. In particular, the article argues that the catalytic state model, which emphasises the active role of governments in a liberalised market structure and their wide participation in a networked pattern of energy diplomacy, is better equipped than the regulatory state model to capture the new European politics of energy security.

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The article analyses the specific features of energy policy-making, by exploring the relevant dimensions of the matters and the interdependence between energy policy and other sectors. A recognition of the evolution of energy policy – and of the policy change which occurred in recent years – is provided, as a starting point for applying the tools of policy studies to the analysis of energy policy-making. Two different types are then identified: the external policy-making concerning security matters; and the internal policy-making concerning organizational and market-related issues. It will be seen that each type of policy-making is characterized by a particular policy sub-system with its own actors, instruments, arenas and dynamics.

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The regulatory state model has traditionally been used to analyse the process of integrating the European energy sector, including the sensitive area of security of gas supply. This article argues that, due to recent innovations, this conceptualisation has become increasingly problematic and cannot provide an accurate picture of the current governance and politics of European energy security. This article applies the catalytic state model to the EU and contrasts it with the regulatory state approach. The catalytic state describes a peculiar pattern of governance which combines-rather than resolves-the tensions between market-centred and state-centred approaches and supranational and national views on EU energy security. This article also illustrates how this stylised form of state can be used to better frame the guiding principles, strategies and tools that are currently emerging as EU institutions address the issue of security of gas supply. Keywords Catalytic state • Energy diplomacy • EU energy security • Regulatory state • Security of gas supply * Andrea Prontera