EU energy paper shirks markets. (European Union green paper)(Editorial)

The best energy policies are those that keep governments out of energy markets. They are extremely rare. The next best energy policies are those that do not exist at all. The European Union (EU) should bear these lessons of history in mind as it lurches toward an energy policy for all of Europe.

Energy Council ministers this month accepted a "green paper" laying out proposals for a new chapter on energy in the 1991 treaty under which the EU evolved from the old European Economic Community. A "white paper" specifying ways to implement the green paper proposals is due by the end of the year. The white paper will form the basis of debate over whether to add an energy chapter …