They should use some of that time to give the public an answer to a fundamental question: do you want an internal market for energy, or are you happy continuing to pretend that you want it, leaving it to the next government to blame the EU for failing to achieve it?

Meeting in Brussels in March to discuss Ukraine, climate, energy and competitiveness policies, the continent’s heads of state or government again confirmed that completing the internal energy market by 2014 remains a priority.