The EU Regulatory Observatory’s report “Unlocking the True Value of Our Energy Union” welcomes tax cuts and faster permitting in the Commission’s €130 billion Affordable Energy Action Plan but criticises its deep contradictions: pursuing lower prices while forcing rapid decarbonisation, centralising markets yet demanding efficiency, and relying on immature technologies. Scoring just 5.15/10, the study warns that price controls and interventionism risk higher costs and market distortions.